Journal Articles by Brendan Ch'ng
Health Psychology, 2023
Objective: Vaccines are an effective means to reduce the spread of diseases, but they are sometim... more Objective: Vaccines are an effective means to reduce the spread of diseases, but they are sometimes met with hesitancy that needs to be understood. Method: In this study, we analyzed data from a large, cross-country survey conducted between June and August 2021 in 43 countries (N = 15,740) to investigate the roles of trust in government and science in shaping vaccine attitudes and willingness to be vaccinated. Results: Despite significant variability between countries, we found that both forms of institutional trust were associated with a higher will- ingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Furthermore, we found that conspiratorial thinking and anti-expert sen- timents predicted reduced trust in government and science, respectively, and that trust mediated the relationship between these two constructs and ultimate vaccine attitudes. Although most countries displayed similar relation- ships between conspiratorial thinking and anti-expert sentiments, trust in government and science, and vaccine attitudes, we identified three countries (Brazil, Honduras, and Russia) that demonstrated significantly altered associations between the examined variables in terms of significant random slopes. Conclusions: Cross-country differences suggest that local governments’ support for COVID-19 prevention policies can influence populations’ vaccine attitudes. These findings provide insight for policymakers to develop interventions aiming to increase trust in the institutions involved in the vaccination process.
Scientific Data, 2021
This N = 173,426 social science dataset was collected through the collaborative COVIDiSTRESS Glob... more This N = 173,426 social science dataset was collected through the collaborative COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey – an open science effort to improve understanding of the human experiences of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic between 30th March and 30th May, 2020. The dataset allows a cross-cultural study of psychological and behavioural responses to the Coronavirus pandemic and associated government measures like cancellation of public functions and stay at home orders implemented in many countries. The dataset contains demographic background variables as well as measures of Asian Disease Problem, perceived stress (PSS-10), availability of social provisions (SPS-10), trust in various authorities, trust in governmental measures to contain the virus (OECD trust), personality traits (BFF-15), information behaviours, agreement with the level of government intervention, and compliance with preventive measures, along with a rich pool of exploratory variables and written experiences. A global consortium from 39 countries and regions worked together to build and translate a survey with variables of shared interests, and recruited participants in 47 languages and dialects. Raw plus cleaned data and dynamic visualizations are available.
Scientific Data, 2022
During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVIDiSTRESS Consortium launched an open-access gl... more During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVIDiSTRESS Consortium launched an open-access global survey to understand and improve individuals’ experiences related to the crisis. A year later, we extended this line of research by launching a new survey to address the dynamic landscape of the pandemic. This survey was released with the goal of addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion by working with over 150 researchers across the globe who collected data in 48 languages and dialects across 137 countries. The resulting cleaned dataset described here includes 15,740 of over 20,000 responses. The dataset allows cross-cultural study of psychological wellbeing and behaviours a year into the pandemic. It includes measures of stress, resilience, vaccine attitudes, trust in government and scientists, compliance, and information acquisition and misperceptions regarding COVID-19. Open-access raw and cleaned datasets with computed scores are available. Just as our initial COVIDiSTRESS dataset has facilitated government policy decisions regarding health crises, this dataset can be used by researchers and policy makers to inform research, decisions, and policy.
Royal Society Open Science, 2021
The COVIDiSTRESS global survey collects data on early human responses to the 2020 COVID-19 pandem... more The COVIDiSTRESS global survey collects data on early human responses to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic from 173 429 respondents in 48 countries. The open science study was co-designed by an international consortium of researchers to investigate how psychological responses differ across countries and cultures, and how this has impacted behaviour, coping and trust in government efforts to slow the spread of the virus. Starting in March 2020, COVIDiSTRESS leveraged the convenience of unpaid online recruitment to generate public data. The objective of the present analysis is to understand relationships between psychological responses in the early months of global coronavirus restrictions and help understand how different government measures succeed or fail in changing public behaviour. There were variations between and within countries. Although Western Europeans registered as more concerned over COVID-19, more stressed, and having slightly more trust in the governments' efforts, there was no clear geographical pattern in compliance with behavioural measures. Detailed plots illustrating between-countries differences are provided. Using both traditional and Bayesian analyses, we found that individuals who worried about getting sick worked harder to protect themselves and others. However, concern about the coronavirus itself did not account for all of the variances in experienced stress during the early months of COVID-19 restrictions. More alarmingly, such stress was associated with less compliance. Further, those most concerned over the coronavirus trusted in government measures primarily where policies were strict. While concern over a disease is a source of mental distress, other factors including strictness of protective measures, social support and personal lockdown conditions must also be taken into consideration to fully appreciate the psychological impact of COVID-19 and to understand why some people fail to follow behavioural guidelines intended to protect themselves and others from infection. The Stage 1 manuscript associated with this submission received in-principle acceptance (IPA) on 18 May 2020. Following IPA, the accepted Stage 1 version of the manuscript was preregistered on the Open Science Framework at https://osf.io/ytbcs. This preregistration was performed prior to data analysis.
In this article, we discuss Malaysia's major language policies surrounding Bahasa Malaysia and En... more In this article, we discuss Malaysia's major language policies surrounding Bahasa Malaysia and English as medium of instruction (MOI) since its independence. We show how issues involving a national language vis a vis English are shaped by different ethnic and social groups' competing views regarding these languages. We argue that the language debate in Malaysia is largely an emotive one that carries a historical baggage which no one is yet ready to discard and until such time, it will continue to represent a nation divided by nationalism, race-based politics and globalisation. However, we also interpret the Malaysian government's termination of English as the MOI in certain key school subjects starting in 2012 as not necessarily an arbitrary rejection of English but as a positive move, given the many problems associated with the over-reliance on English in education and language policies throughout Asia. We, thus, see the most recent act known as 'To Uphold Bahasa Malaysia & To Strengthen the English Language' (MBMMBI) as a necessary, firm, strategic and timely response by the Malaysian government to globalisation, nation building, the increasing international role of English, and the pressure to produce knowledge and maintain national cultural identity in today's world 59 nation BuiLding, engLish as an internationaL Language, MediuM of instruction, and Language deBate of a global elite community closely linked to the widespread use of English has pressured nation states to seriously engage with this assumed most powerful language of our times, as will be seen in the case of Malaysia presented in the subsequent sections. In particular, Malaysia's major language policies surrounding Bahasa Malaysia and English as the medium of instruction (MOI) in schools and universities since its independence are specifically drawn on. We then focus on Malaysia's two major policies regarding MOI: the sudden change from Bahasa Malaysia as the MOI to English for Mathematics and Science in 2003, which was reversed in 2012 following a decade of failure seen from various angles; and the introduction of a new language policy after the reverse, known as 'To Uphold Bahasa Malaysia & To Strengthen the English Language' (MBMMBI).
Jurnal Psikologi Malaysia, 2022
Across the world including Malaysia, the rate of mental health issues has become increasingly con... more Across the world including Malaysia, the rate of mental health issues has become increasingly concerning especially among young adults. However, much is still unknown about the psychological flourishing of postgraduate students despite the steady increase in student enrolments into postgraduate programmes as Malaysia anticipates the emergence of a skilled talent pool to advance the nation's economic growth. Thus, this quantitative study explored the psychological flourishing of Malaysian postgraduate students in Klang Valley by examining whether there are significant differences based on their sociodemographic characteristics. A total of 240 postgraduate students participated in this study and completed a set of questionnaires online that measured their psychological flourishing and demographic characteristics. The results showed that there were significant differences in the psychological flourishing of postgraduate students based on their age group and field of study. However, this study did not find any significant differences in postgraduate students' level of psychological flourishing based on their gender, ethnicity, level of postgraduate programme, the structure of programme, mode of programme, and year of programme. The findings of this study had several practical implications for postgraduate students, faculty members, and on-campus counsellors. Finally, the limitations of this study and recommendations for future studies are also addressed.
Affective Curriculum for Gifted Students in Malaysia: A Recommendation, 2014
In recent years, the Malaysian Ministry of Education has been reviving gifted and talented progra... more In recent years, the Malaysian Ministry of Education has been reviving gifted and talented programmes. Gifted students are well-known for their academic achievements, but their socio-emotional development are often given less attention in schools. This article discusses the socio-emotional issues of gifted adolescents, and the needs for providing affective curriculum in gifted education to cater the socio-emotional needs of gifted adolescents. Various models for developing an affective curriculum are also discussed within the context of the Malaysian education system. Finally, this article considers the possible implications on teacher education and provides suggestions for future research to be conducted in Malaysia.
Conference Presentations by Brendan Ch'ng
This paper presents a proposed research to test a moderated mediation model that examines whether... more This paper presents a proposed research to test a moderated mediation model that examines whether self-compassion mediates the association between early memories of positive emotions and psychological well-being. The research will also examine whether sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) moderates the indirect and direct effects of this relationship. Extensive research has shown that highly sensitive people (HSP) are more easily affected by their environment than others due to their high levels of sensory-processing sensitivity (SPS). In particular, recent studies have shown that the quality of childhood experience influences the well-being of highly sensitive people for better or for worse through an interactive effect with SPS. It is still unclear whether having early experiences of positive emotions in childhood would positively contribute to the psychological well-being of HSP. This research employs a quantitative research method to collect data on an online community sample in Klang Valley using a survey, which will be analysed using conditional process analysis. A pilot study has been conducted to determine the reliability of the adopted instruments. This research offers theoretical contributions to the literature on SPS and self-compassion within the context of Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, as well as practical implications for mental health professionals to improve the well-being of highly sensitive people.
Papers by Brendan Ch'ng
University World News, 2023
Share 3 African student visa denials? UNITED KINGDOM Balance tilts towards foreign students at to... more Share 3 African student visa denials? UNITED KINGDOM Balance tilts towards foreign students at top universities
University World News, 2022
Tweet Image: iStock Join us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Related Links ASIA What fuels studen... more Tweet Image: iStock Join us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Related Links ASIA What fuels students' ongoing aspirations to study abroad? ASIA Towards a common higher education space in Southeast Asia GLOBAL International student mobility in the wake of COVID-19 ASIA The 'World-Class' fad-Time to pursue a grander vision ASIA Transforming higher education through regionalisation
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Journal Articles by Brendan Ch'ng
Conference Presentations by Brendan Ch'ng
Papers by Brendan Ch'ng