1.Translation, Validation, and Reliability Testing of the Parent Reading Beliefs Survey (PRBS): The Malay Version
David Eu Han Kung ; Affizal Ahmad ; Wan Najibah Wan Mohamad ; Monica Anne Wallace
Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences 2026;24(No. 1):29-43
Children’s proficient reading performance is not merely an academic skill; it is a fundamental cornerstone of a child’s
cognitive development, academic success, and long-term life outcomes. As a primary role model, parental reading
attitudes will most likely influence the home literacy environment and children’s reading performance. Parents’
reading habits and experiences may provide the necessary knowledge to assist children’s reading development.
Currently, no Malay language instruments are available to assess parents’ attitudes towards reading. Thus, this
study aimed to translate the English version of the Parent Reading Beliefs Survey (PRBS) into Malay language
and evaluate its validity and reliability. PRBS was chosen because it can measure how parents’ reading attitudes
align with current at-home literacy practices and literacy development. The Malay-translated questionnaire was
content validated through content validity ratio (CVR), content validity index-relevance (CVI-Relevance), and
content validity index-clarity (CVI-Clarity) methods by eight expert panels (professionals that having expertise
related to early literacy), and finally reliability tested using Cronbach’s alpha with 50 participants (preschool
children’s parents). The results showed that all items’ CVR values were at least 0.75, and all items’ CVI-Relevance
and CVI-Clarity values were higher than 0.83, indicating satisfactory validity. As for each subscale, Cronbach’s
alpha value ranges from 0.71 to 0.97, indicating acceptable and good internal consistency. Overall, the Malaytranslated version of the PRBS was found to be valid and reliable for use in future studies. The findings of this
study can pave the way for more research efforts in the field of reading in Malaysia. The questionnaire can also
assist speech therapists and educators in assessing the attitudes that parents have in reading to come up with
better designs for parent-child reading intervention
2.Happiness and Life Satisfaction among University Students in Malaysia: A Scoping
David Eu Han Kung ; Affizal Ahmad
Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences 2025;23(No.2):55-66
Being a university student can be challenging. As such, it is imperative to gain insight into the positive psychology
of university students. In this paper, happiness and life satisfaction among university students in Malaysia are
reviewed accordingly. Two research questions were highlighted, that is, (i) factors affecting happiness and (ii)
factors affecting life satisfaction. The review was conducted using a framework suggested by Arksey and O’Maley
(2005). EBSCOhost, ScienceDirect, and Scopus electronic databases were searched for published articles from
2000 to 2021. A total of 588 titles were extracted from electronic databases. After considering inclusion criteria
and research questions, 19 articles were selected for review. Happiness was found to have positive relations with
social skills, psychological well-being attributes, problem-solving skills, parental home involvement, religious
commitment, and religiosity. Factors such as positive religious coping, self-confidence, being an extrovert, and
resiliency are found to correlate with life satisfaction. Those with suicidal attitudes, loneliness, shyness, and
poorer health displayed lower life satisfaction. Students’ life satisfaction is also associated with happiness,
intrapreneurial self-capital, intercultural sensitivity, flourishing, spiritual well-being, and spiritual involvement.
The review assists the university authorities and student management unit in planning effective curricula and
programs for students’ psychological well-being.


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