Psychology in Southeast Asia: Sociocultural, Clinical, and Health Perspectives

241 Pages·2020·11.501 MB·English

by  Grant J. Rich, Jas Laile Suzana Jaafar and David Barron

“Some 650 million persons reside in Southeast Asia. This pioneering volume
discusses innovative psychological research conducted in 9 ASEAN countries
and helps us to understand better what culturally varied lives these people lead.
There is no other book like it.”
Uwe P. Gielen, PhD, Past President, Society for Cross-Cultural
Research (SCCR); Past President, International Council of
Psychologists (ICP); Past President, American Psychological Association,
International Division; Professor Emeritus, St. Francis College
“For many years, cross-cultural psychologists have pointed to the Eurocentric bias
in Psychology. Henrich, Heine and Norenzayan provided strong empirical evidence
of this bias when they demonstrated that much of psychological science is based
primarily on samples from Western Educated Industrialized Rich Democracies
(WEIRD). In this pioneering volume on Psychology in Southeast Asia, Rich, Jaafar
and Barron have provided a significant contribution to counter this WEIRD sci­
ence. In this timely book, the authors cover the significant psychological theories
and research from 9 of the 10 ASEAN countries. It provides an enlightening
overview of the people of Southeast Asia beyond the stereotypes engendered by the
Vietnam war or the 1MDB scandal in Malaysia. I highly recommend it to scholars
and individuals interested in understanding Southeast-Asian psychology from indi­
genous perspectives.”
Frederick Leong, PhD, Director of the Consortium for
Multicultural Psychology Research, Michigan State University;
Past President, Asian American Psychological Association;
Past President, APA’s Division 45 (Society for the Psychological
Study of Ethnic Minority Issues); Founding Editor,
APA’s Asian American Journal of Psychology
“Having worked very closely with refugees from Southeast Asia for more than 10
years, and witnessed how they started with nothing and became established as
business people or professionals in Canada in 20 years, I know that they have
much to teach people in the West about the cultural source of their resilience and
success. That is why I believe that Psychology in Southeast Asia fills a major gap in
the literature regarding the vital role of culture-specific beliefs, values, rituals and
social structures for clinical psychology, health psychology and positive psych­
ology. I highly recommend this book for both researchers and practitioners.”
Paul T. P. Wong, President of the International Network on Personal Meaning
(www.meaning.ca), Professor Emeritus, Trent University

Psychology in Southeast Asia

Despite diverse, rich cultural traditions and abundant economic opportunity,
there has been a paucity of research on psychology in Southeast Asia. This book
aims to fill that gap, with a series of well-written theoretical and empirical chapters
by PhD psychologists in SE Asia along with respected international colleagues
and co-authors from around the globe.
In particular this book focuses upon critical sociocultural, clinical, and health
issues and perspectives in psychology in Southeast Asia. Overviews help contextual­
ise the cultural data, permitting nuanced examination of significant psychological
issues in nations such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and more.
Psychologists and mental health professionals with interests in Asia will find this
book to be a must-read, as will other readers seeking to deepen their cultural and
international understanding.
Grant J. Rich, PhD, Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is Senior
Editor of Pathfinders in International Psychology (2015) and published three coe­
dited books in 2017 and 2018: Internationalizing the Teaching of Psychology (2017),
Human Strengths and Resilience: Developmental, Cross-Cultural, and International
Perspectives (2018), and Teaching Psychology around the World (2018). Dr. Rich
teaches at Walden University, USA.
Jas Laile Suzana Jaafar, PhD, is a professor at the Department of Educational
Psychology and Counselling, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
David Barron, PhD, is the deputy director and reader at the Centre of Psycho­
logical Medicine, Perdana University, Malaysia.
Routledge Studies in Asian Behavioural Sciences
Series Editor: T. Wing Lo, City University of Hong Kong
Psycho-Criminological Perspective of Criminal Justice in Asia
Research and Practices in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Beyond
Edited by Heng Choon (Oliver) Chan and Samuel M.Y. Ho
Humour and Chinese Culture
A Psychological Perspective
Yue Xiao Dong
Idol Worship in Chinese Society
A Psychological Approach
Xiaodong Yue and Chau-kiu Cheung
A Comparison of Eastern and Western Parenting
Programmes, Policies and Approaches
Low Yiu Tsang Andrew
Empowering Asian Youth through Volunteering
Examples of Theory into Practice
Elaine S. C. Liu
Understanding Crime in Villages-in-the-City in China
A Social and Behavioural Approach
Zhanguo Liu and T. Wing Lo
Creativity in Chinese Contexts
Sociocultural and Dispositional Analyses
Chau-kiu Cheung and Xiaodong Yue
Grief, Bereavement and Meaning Making in Older People
Views from Rural China
Haimin Pan
Psychology in Southeast Asia
Sociocultural, Clinical, and Health Perspectives
Edited by Grant J. Rich, Jas Laile Suzana Jaafar, and David Barron
For the full list of titles in the series visit: www.routledge.com/Routledge-Studies-
in-Asian-Behavioural-Sciences/book-series/RABS
Psychology in Southeast Asia
Sociocultural, Clinical, and
Health Perspectives
Edited by Grant J. Rich, Jas Laile
Suzana Jaafar and David Barron
First published 2020
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2020 selection and editorial matter, Grant J. Rich, Jas Laile Suzana
Jaafar, and David Barron; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Grant J. Rich, Jas Laile Suzana Jaafar, and David Barron to
be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors
for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
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retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested

ISBN: 978-0-367-42327-8 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-367-82356-6 (ebk)

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Contents

List of contributors x
1 Psychology in Southeast Asia: An overview 1
GRANT J. RICH, JAS LAILE SUZANA JAAFAR AND
DAVID BARRON
PART 1
Resilience and adjustment 11
GRANT J. RICH
2 Psychology in the Philippines: An overview of the state
of the discipline emphasising sociocultural, clinical, and
health perspectives 15
DAVID BARRON, NOR AZZATUNNISAK MOHD KHATIB, HANOOR SYAHIRAH
ZAHARI AND EVELYN TOH KHENG LIN
3 Psychology in Cambodia: Looking forward with resilience 33
GRANT J. RICH AND SKULTIP (JILL) SIRIKANTRAPORN
4 Moving forward: Understanding the adjustment of domestic
violence survivors from the perspective of family counselling 40
MELATI SUMARI, NOR HASNIAH IBRAHIM AND DINI FARHANA BAHARUDIN
5 Filipina migrant domestic workers in Asia: Mental health
and resilience 51
ESSLIN TERRIGHENA AND DAVID BARRON
6 Sexism and disengagement in the Thai workplace 69
PRAPIMPA JARUNRATANAKUL
viii Contents
PART 2
Well-being 81
JAS LAILE SUZANA JAAFAR
7 The relationship between meaning in life and subjective
well-being among on-call employees with forgiveness and
hope as mediators 85
BAGUS TAKWIN AND ANINDA ENZA AZURA MUNDAKIR
8 Values and subjective well-being in Singapore 102
TAMBYAH SIOK KUAN, TAN SOO JIUAN AND DANIEL TAN CHUN JIE
9 Subjective well-being of adolescents and their parents in Vietnam 116
TRUONG THI KHANH HA
10 What makes young Malaysians healthy?: Establishing the
determinants of social well-being 134
HASLINA MUHAMAD, NIK DALIANA NIK FARID, NURUL FAZMIDAR MOHD
NOOR AND NOOR SULASTRY YURNI AHMAD
11 Cognitive-emotional regulation and aggression
among Thais 144
SKULTIP (JILL) SIRIKANTRAPORN AND NATTASUDA TAEPHANT
PART 3
Identity and health perspectives in Southeast Asia, with
assessment concerns 163
DAVID BARRON
12 Southeast Asian immigrants and refugees from Laos, Vietnam,
Myanmar, and Cambodia: Psychological perspectives on identity
and health in the United States 166
JULIE BADARACCO AND SKULTIP (JILL) SIRIKANTRAPORN
13 The moral identity of Malays: An empirical investigation
of Malay moral attributes reflected on political and
non-political Facebook pages 177
JAS LAILE SUZANA JAAFAR, SALINAH JAAFAR, HASLINA MUHAMAD, MOHD
AWANG IDRIS AND MUHAMMAD SAIFUL HAQ HUSSIN
Contents ix
14 Measures of body image and disordered eating for use with
Malaysian populations: A critical review and methodologic
critique of the recent literature 192
VIREN SWAMI
15 The case of post hoc ergo propter hoc with the psychological
assessment of schizotypy and psychotic-like experiences in
Southeast Asia 204
DAVID BARRON AND EVELYN TOH KHENG LIN
16 Conclusion: Past, present, and future of psychology in
Southeast Asia 217
GRANT J. RICH, JAS LAILE SUZANA JAAFAR AND DAVID BARRON
Index 221