Family Adjustments and Parental Behaviour Among Mixed Marriage Families

The primary purpose of the study was to determine the family adjustments and parental behaviour among mixed marriage families in Malaysia. The study also examined the association between selected factors of parental characteristics (age, sex, level of education, employment status and length of marriage), child personal characteristics (age and sex) and family contexts (number of children, family income, total household size and social support) with family adjustments (oneway selforiented, oneway spouse-oriented and mixed) as well as parental behaviour (authoritarian, authoritative and permissive). In addition, the study investigated factors that uniquely contribute to various family adjustments and parental behaviour. Sample comprised 372 mixed marriage couples with children age 5 to 12 years who were chosen purposively for the study. Data were collected by interviews based on a standardized questionnaire. Family adjustments were assessed using the 'Family Adjustment Scale' by Rozumah and Rumaya (2000), while parental behaviour was measured based on a scale by Edwards (2000). Results showed that there was almost equal distribution (oneway self-oriented=38.9%, oneway spouse-oriented=28.9% and mixed=32.2%) of types of family adjustments adopt by the respondents, with slightly more (38.9%) reporting oneway self-oriented adjustment in daily and customary activities. Majority (40.1%) of the mixed marriage parents also reported to have authoritative parental behaviour. Chi-square test of independence revealed that parent's age (X²=13.07, P≤.05), sex (X²=9.67, P≤.0.1), level of education (X²=8.55, P≤.05), employment status (X²=7.57, P≤.05) and length of marriage (X²=26.35, P≤.001) were significantly associated with family adjustments. On the other hand, education level (X²=9.37, P≤.05), employment status (X²=5.25, P≤.05) and total family income (X²=33.l7, p≤.001) were also dependent on parental behaviour. In the bivariate analyses, it was noted that parents with female target child (r=-0.18, P≤.05) and higher family income (r=0.18, P≤.05) were more self-oriented in their family adjustment. Respondents who were more educated (r=0.23, P≤.05), earned higher income (r=0.35, p≤.001) and perceived more supportive social network (r=0.28, P≤.001) were more likely to exhibit oneway spouse-oriented family adjustment

Inter-ethnic and mono-ethnic families: examining the association of parenting and child emotional and behavioural adjustment

Literature suggests that inter-ethnic children are not only one of the fastest growing populations in the last decade, but also show a higher prevalence of risk factor for poor outcomes, including family breakdown, academic underachievement and psychology maladjustment. The present research explores whether ethnicallymixed children are less well psychologically adjusted when compared to children from mono-ethnic families. Findings are reported from a study on the emotional and behavioural adjustments of children from 218 interethnic Malay-Chinese and 214 mono-ethnic Malay and Chinese families in Malaysia. The centrality of familial ethnicity status (inter vs. mono), parental relationships quality, and parenting behaviour were also explored as correlates of children’s psychological adjustment. Mother-child dyads were sampled for the survey and standardized self-administered questionnaires were utilised. In this sample of Malaysian families, multivariate analysis revealed that parental ethnicity mix, the quality of their marital relationships, and parenting behaviour predicted whether or not the children were emotionally and behaviourally adjusted. Overall, children from mixed parentage reported fewer emotional and behavioural problems than those from mono-ethnic minority families. The current study challenges traditional assumptions towards inter-ethnic families and shows that children of mixed-parentage may not be at risk of emotional and behavioural problems, as previously suggested. The findings have important implications for children development and interventions, with children of mixedparentage in today’s changing families

Evolving morphotropic phase boundary in lead-free (Bi1/2Na1/2)TiO3–BaTiO3 piezoceramics

The correlation between structure and electrical properties of lead-free (1-x)(Bi(1/2)Na(1/2))TiO(3)-xBaTiO(3) (BNT-100xBT) polycrystalline piezoceramics was investigated systematically by in situ synchrotron diffraction technique, combined with electrical property characterization. It was found that the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) between a rhombohedral and a tetragonal phase evolved into a morphotropic phase region with electric field. In the unpoled material, the MPB was positioned at the transition from space group R3m to P4mm (BNT-11BT) with optimized permittivity throughout a broad single-phase R3m composition regime. Upon poling, a range of compositions from BNT-6BT to BNT-11BT became two-phase mixture, and maximum piezoelectric coefficient was observed in BNT-7BT. It was shown that optimized electrical properties are related primarily to the capacity for domain texturing and not to phase coexistence

Intercultural marriage in Sarawak : motivational factors.

Using data gathered from 240 intercultural-married respondents in Sarawak, this study examines motivational factors for intercultural marriage. A 10-item Likert scale adapted from Lewis and Yancey (1997) was used to measure motivational factors to marry inter-culturally. Findings revealed that respondents who earned higher income were not motivated by racial factors such as the uniqueness of intercultural marriage, attractiveness of other races and communication when choosing their partner. Interestingly, those who emphasized on non-racial factors such as love, shared interest, and similar economic status, were also found to consider racial related factors in spouse selection process. To conclude, intercultural-married individuals in the study seemed to be motivated by both racial and non-racial factors to decide upon their marriage

Perceived parental warmth and depression in early adolescents: path analysis on the role of self-esteem as a mediator

The prevalence of depression in Malaysia instigated the twofold objectives of the present study. First, the relationship between perceived parental warmth, self-esteem and depression was examined, followed by the exploration on the role of self-esteem as a mediator between perceived parental warmth and depression among early adolescents. The model for early adolescent's depression was guided by Beck's cognitive theory of depression and parental acceptance-rejection theory. A total of 1394 adolescents aged 13 to 15 years, who reported living with both married and biological parents, provided complete self-report data on the measures (Conger's subscale for parental warmth, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, Beck Depression Inventory for Malays) for the three observed variables (namely, perceived parental warmth, self-esteem and depression). In order to determine the role of self-esteem as a mediator, Pearson correlation was first conducted to ensure that the initial variable (perceived parental warmth) was related to the outcome (depression) and mediator (self-esteem) variable as suggested by Baron and Kenny (1986). Path analysis was then employed to establish the mediating effect of self-esteem. Results revealed that the data from the study fitted the model and that perceived parental warmth had an indirect effect on depression through self-esteem. Findings also revealed that self-esteem was a complete mediator in the relationship between perceived parental warmth and depression. Implications for the alternative approach in preventing depression were further discussed

The influence of communication, empowerment and trust on organizational ethical climates

In this study, communication, empowerment and trust were examined to determine their influence on an organization’s ethical climate. A total of 150 questionnaires completed by managers and executives based in the Klang Valley, Malaysia were analysed. The results demonstrated that empowerment was positively related to a benevolent-local climate while trust was positively related to both benevolent-local and principled-local climates. However, communication did not have a significant influence on all three ethical climate types. We discuss our results and the implications for both future academic research and practice

Role of gender in perceived stress and adjustment among adolescents in Malaysia

Background: Stress is a highly unpleasant state of emotional arousal that may relates to adjustment problems such as depression, anxiety, aggression and performance in school. This study aimed to determine the role of gender in the relationship between perceived stress and adjustment among adolescents in metropolitan and urbanized cities of Malaysia. Methods: A total of 441 school-going adolescents aged between 13 and 17 years from 15 secondary schools were selected as respondents of the study by using multistage cluster sampling method with Probability Proportional to Size (PPS) sampling technique. Results: Findings of the study indicated that adolescents with low level of stress of home life, low level of stress of peer pressure and school/leisure conflict had significantly better emotional and school functioning. T-test analysis revealed significant difference in emotional functioning between male and female respondents. Multivariate analyses revealed that gender moderated the relationship between stress experiences and adjustment. Conclusion: In conclusion, stress has a negative influence on adolescents’ adjustment. Female adolescents are more affected by stress than males

Barrier efficiency of sponge-like La2Zr2O7 buffer layers for YBCO-coated conductors

Solution derived La2Zr2O7 films have drawn much attention for potential applications as thermal barriers or low-cost buffer layers for coated conductor technology. Annealing and coating parameters strongly affect the microstructure of La2Zr2O7, but different film processing methods can yield similar microstructural features such as nanovoids and nanometer-sized La2Zr2O7 grains. Nanoporosity is a typical feature found in such films and the implications for the functionality of the films is investigated by a combination of scanning transmission electron microscopy, electron energy-loss spectroscopy and quantitative electron tomography. Chemical solution based La2Zr2O7 films deposited on flexible Ni-5at.%W substrates with a {100} biaxial texture were prepared for an in-depth characterization. A sponge-like structure composed of nanometer sized voids is revealed by high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy in combination with electron tomography. A three-dimensional quantification of nanovoids in the La2Zr2O7 film is obtained on a local scale. Mostly non-interconnected highly facetted nanovoids compromise more than one-fifth of the investigated sample volume. The diffusion barrier efficiency of a 170 nm thick La2Zr2O7 film is investigated by STEM-EELS yielding a 1.8 \pm 0.2 nm oxide layer beyond which no significant nickel diffusion can be detected and intermixing is observed. This is of particular significance for the functionality of YBa2Cu3O7-{\delta} coated conductor architectures based on solution derived La2Zr2O7 films as diffusion barriers.Comment: Accepted for publication in Superconductor Science and Technolog

Mapping electronic reconstruction at the metal/insulator interfaces in \ce{LaVO_3/SrVO_3} heterostructures

A \ce{(LaVO_3)_6/(SrVO_3)_3} superlattice is studied with a combination of sub-{\AA} resolved scanning transmission electron microscopy and monochromated electron energy-loss spectroscopy. The V oxidation state is mapped with atomic spatial resolution enabling to investigate electronic reconstruction at the \ce{LaVO_3}/\ce{SrVO_3} interfaces. Surprisingly, asymmetric charge distribution is found at adjacent chemically symmetric interfaces. The local structure is proposed and simulated with double channeling calculation which agrees qualitatively with our experiment. We demonstrate that local strain asymmetry is the likely cause of the electronic asymmetry of the interfaces. The electronic reconstruction at the interfaces extends much further than the chemical composition, varying from 0.5 to 1.2 nm. This distance corresponds to the length of charge transfer previously found in the \ce{(LaVO_3)_m}/\ce{(SrVO_3)_n} metal/insulating and the \ce{(LaAlO_3)_m}/\ce{(SrTiO_3)_n} insulating/insulating interfaces.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. Physical Review B, 201