One of the popular approaches of preventing youth sexual activity in Malaysia is using religion to promote premarital sexual abstinence. Despite this intervention, youth continue to practise premarital sex. Thus, the purpose of this exploratory mixed methods study was to understand the role of religion on sexual activity among college students in Klang Valley, Malaysia. A self-administered questionnaire survey to determine the relationship between religiosity and youth sexual activity was carried out on 1026 students recruited from 12 randomly selected colleges. Concurrently, face-to-face interviews were conducted on 15 students to explore how religiosity had influenced their decision on sexual activity. The survey data were analysed using logistic regression, while the qualitative data from the interviews were examined using thematic analysis with separate analysis for each gender. Both quantitative and qualitative results were then compared and integrated. Religious activity significantly reduced the risk of continuing sexual activity among female students (AOR = 0.67, CI = 0.47, 0.95, p = 0.02) but not male students. There was no significant relationship of religious affiliation and intrinsic religiosity (inner faith) to sexual activity by gender. Having faith in religion and strong sexual desire were the main themes that explained participants’ sexual behaviour. Engaging in religious activity might be effective at preventing female students from being sexually active. However, when sexual urges and desires are beyond control, religiosity might not be effective.

Background: Parenting behaviour is culturally sensitive. The aims of this study were (1) to translate the Parental Bonding Instrument into Malay (PBI-M) and (2) to determine its factorial structure and validity among the Malaysian population. Methods: The PBI-M was generated from a standard translation process and comprehension testing. The validation study of the PBI-M was administered to 248 college students aged 18 to 22 years. Results: Participants in the comprehension testing had difficulty understanding negative items. Five translated double negative items were replaced with five positive items with similar meanings. Exploratory factor analysis showed a three-factor model for the PBI-M with acceptable reliability. Four negative items (items 3, 4, 8, and 16) and item 19 were omitted from the final PBI-M list because of incorrect placement or low factor loading (< 0.32). Out of the final 20 items of the PBI-M, there were 10 items for the care factor, five items for the autonomy factor and five items for the overprotection factor. All the items loaded positively on their respective factors. Conclusion: The Malaysian population favoured positive items in answering questions. The PBI-M confirmed the three-factor model that consisted of care, autonomy and overprotection. The PBI-M is a valid and reliable instrument to assess the Malaysian parenting style. Confirmatory factor analysis may further support this finding. � Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2014.