Adolescent Connectedness: Testing Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Hemingway: Measure of Adolescent Connectedness-Bahasa Melayu Version (HMAC-BM).

Measuring the factors that underlie adolescent connectedness has become a prominent focused issue in past studies across many disciplines. Thus far, the Hemingway: Measure of Adolescent Connectedness (HMAC) is the first research-based measure of adolescent's relationship and sense of belonging with other people and their surroundings. The current study aimed to examine the measurement model of the Hemingway: Measure of Adolescent Connectedness which has been translated into Bahasa Melayu (HMAC-BM) in order to check for its feasibility among Malaysian adolescents. A total of 377 adolescents aged 16 years old were recruited from the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. Three factors, namely connectedness to family, school, and neighbors with seven sub-factors of the HMAC-BM, were analyzed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) using the IBM SPSS Amos 23.0 (23.0, IBM Technology, Armonk, NY, USA). Results of the CFA supported the second-order factor of the HMAC-BM structures. The overall HMAC-BM scale and its subscales have higher factor loadings ranging from 0.60 to 0.79. Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged from 0.78 to 0.95 for the three subscales and 0.84 for the total scale. Results also revealed seven sub-factors with forty-one factors-solution that accounted for 0.89% of total variance explained for adolescent connectedness. Findings provide empirical support for the feasibility of HMAC-BM in explaining Malaysian adolescents' social connectedness. Hence, the HMAC-BM is a promising measure that can be used on Malaysian adolescents. The findings have important implications which provide a clear picture of HMAC-BM as an accurate instrument to measure adolescent's social connectedness toward enhancing prosocial attitudes and well-being.

Translation and Validation of the Malay Version of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ-CA).

The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ-CA) has been translated and adapted globally. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Malay version of the ERQ-CA. The ERQ-CA underwent forward and back translation twice and was tested in two separate studies, Study 1 and Study 2, with 296 and 359 students aged between 13 and 14 years old, respectively. Cronbach's alpha values were calculated, and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted. The results from Study 1 demonstrate good internal consistency for cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. The results indicate a good factor loading for most of the items, but only one value of the goodness-of-fit met the criteria for a good fit. The results from Study 2 show improvements in the values of the goodness-of-fit that are comparable to previous studies, but there was a decrease in the factor loading scores. Overall, the Malay version of the ERQ-CA possesses acceptable reliability and validity. Further studies are required in the near future to develop a Malay version of the ERQ-CA that reasonably represents Malaysian adolescents.