Disaster management training is meant to build the competencies of disaster relief workers and volunteers in improving the preparedness and response time in all levels before and after disasters. This paper focuses on the disaster management training not only to improve the technical skills of disaster relief workers and volunteers, but also for personnel and team management. Furthermore, it is also to improve the coordination of disaster preparedness, as well as the competencies and availability of disaster management tools. Thus, in order to synchronize all various units, a training needs analysis (TNA) is required. TNA is a systematic process conducted prior to designing a training program which involves determining the training needs at organisational, operational or individual level, identifying what kind of training is needed, and finally identifying who are the individuals that need to be trained or retrained. The purpose of this research is to identify the need of individual and organisation in implementing disaster preparedness training specifically in Malaysian context, and also to provide recommendations for further improvement. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/). Selection and Peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of PSYSOC 2013

While most people who are involved in disaster recover with the support of their families, friends and colleagues, the effect on some people health, relationships and welfare can be extensive and sustained. Flooding can pose substantial social and mental problems that may continue over extended periods of time. Flooding can challenge the psychosocial resilience of the hardiest of people who are affected. Communication skills used in managing disaster to provide emotional support, provide information, giving hope to the victim and help them to cope with anxiety. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between perception toward communication style practiced by relief workers and psychological well-being. This study was carried out among flood victim in Malaysia. The participants were asked to complete communication style and psychological well-being inventory. Data was analysed using of Pearson correlation coefficient. The result showed that communication style and psychological well-being were significantly related. This study provides theoretical contributions to organizational communication research and the literature on disaster management context. On the other hand, the findings provide support for the effects of relationships between communication style and well-being of flood victims.

This study compares the Muslim flood victims' wellbeing and their practices of Muslim religious personality as coping strategies in dealing with disaster stress by flood victims in four different districts' in Malaysia. The studies involve a survey conducted in two separate studies involving four different districts in Peninsular Malaysia. The districts chosen were Kuala Terengganu and Dengkil for study one; while the other two districts were Besut in Terengganu and Salak Tinggi, Sepang Selangor for the second study. A total of 200 flood victim has participated in this study with majority are from Malay origin and Muslim in faith. Both studies have gathered 100 sample for each studies. The participant was randomly selected in the flood relief center to answer the questionnaire given. The result was analyzed and compared descriptively. Lower education level has serious influence towards sample understanding of the item used. It also influenced the respondent job and income which have shaped the non-significant result of all the inventories used in these two studies. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).

Every organisation and government invests in implementing effective training programmes to maximize the inherent value of their existing human capital. Human development training programmes have been an integral part in encouraging the employees to be a competent and skilled labour force that is knowledgeable and able to perform assigned tasks. Disaster preparedness training is one of training programmes provided to employees and volunteers to prepare and reduce the effects of a disaster such as flood. A variety of training is provided such as swimming skills, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) technique, basic rescue, disaster management, physical intelligence and basic disaster action. However, there is still lack of study that reviews the potential factors that influence the transfer of training in disaster preparedness training. This study is conducted to address this gap. Specifically, this study will review previous studies to identify the potential factors that could influence the transfer of training in disaster preparedness training. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

This study examines the impact of religiosity on financial debt. It also explores the impact of religiosity on debt stress. The study hypothesizes that people with higher religious social norms are likely to have lower financial debt and people with lower financial debts experience lower debt stress. The study used quantitative data using Muslim Religiosity Personality Inventory (MRPI), Financial Impact Scale (FIS) and the Family Economic Stress Scale (FESS). The questionnaires were taken from a sample of 180 participants, which stands from government employees. The study found a significant relationship between financial debts with the level of religiosity of the subjects. The study also found positive association between financial debts with debt stress suggesting that individuals with high financial debts experiences high level of debt stress. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).

The decreasing of religious values and the occurrence of conflicts in the family institution are contributing to the existence of social diseases of today. These situations has led to the need for proper treatment in solving family issues. In the Malaysian context, Western approaches have been used for quite some time in the arena of counselling. Apparently, some Western approaches are found inappropriate for local culture with strong traditional Asian roots. Each person carries a set of values and beliefs that may aid in their well-being. There is no denying that religious discussions and spirituality management within therapy can be essential for treatment because Islam provide its followers guidance and procedures on how to live in this world. This paper will examine the religious counselling and spirituality management in solving family issues. This study is also to explore and evaluate the effectiveness of family counselling process by implementing religious values and spirituality management in solving family issues. Furthermore, this study also look into the selected professional counsellors who are involved directly in family counselling on their views and stances in implementing and including the religious values during their sessions with clients. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Teen mums on the rise with teenagers becoming more sexually active, over 18,000 cases of girls under 19 were recorded in 2011. The aim of this study addresses the issue of teenager's parent attachment versus peer attachment and coping strategy. This study uses a questionnaire for Teenage Pregnancy Profile which contains of three psychological measurements: (1) Parent and Peer Attachment Inventory and (2) Coping Strategy Inventory, and (3) Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale. This study is to identify relationship of parent and peers attachment, feeling of guilt and shame with coping strategy of pregnant teenagers. Respondents in this study consist of 75 pregnant girls (age between 12 and 18), who live in four rehabilitation centers. Majority (27 respondents, 75%) of them declared that they have first time sexual experience and became pregnant at the age of 12 to 15 years old. Results show Pearson's correlation between parent and peer attachment, and coping strategies of the respondents. Significantly weak positive Pearson's correlation (r=.32) show between parent attachment with peer attachment follow by peer attachment with social focus coping strategy (r=.30). The result of inter-correlation between sub-scales of Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale shown significantly positive moderate correlation in range of (r=.42 to r=.57). The implication of this study reflects the need of prevention and also rehabilitation program to high risk group teenagers. Teenagers need to develop positive values toward self-respect and self-esteem as well as coping strategy through assertive training. This study addresses the limitation of data collection from rehabilitation centres under the provision of Social Welfare Department. Future study should also include qualitative approach to have in-depth understanding of how teenage pregnant girls develop positive coping strategies in the process of recovering. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between stress and social support among flood victims. A set of questionnaire consisting of two sections; (i) demographic information, and (ii) translated Malaysian version of DASS (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale), and Modified version of social support inventory. This study involved 300 respondents from two districts (Mersing and Segamat) situated in southern part of Johor, West Malaysia. The reliability of the instrument using Cronbach Alpha is high (DASS =. 957 and social support =. 960). The study showed that there was a significant relationship between stress and social support. The result also highlighted the implication of social support to the flood victims. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

With teenagers becoming more sexually active, teen mums are on the rise, as over 18,000 cases of girls under 19 were recorded in 2011. The aim of this study was to address the issue of teenager's attachment to parent, attachment to peer and coping strategy. To obtain Teenage Pregnancy Profile, this study used a questionnaire comprising three psychological measurements: (1) Parent and Peer Attachment Inventory, (2) Coping Strategy Inventory, and (3) Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale. This study attempted to identify the relationship of parent and peers attachment as well as feeling of guilt and shame with coping strategies utilized by pregnant teenagers. Respondents in this study comprised 75 pregnant girls (age between 12 and 18) from four rehabilitation centres. Most (27 respondents, 75%) of them declared that they had first sexual experience and became pregnant at the age of 12 to 15 years old. Pearson's correlation indicated the strength of the associations among parent and peer attachment and coping strategies of the respondents. The results found a weak positive correlation (r=.32) between parent attachment with peer attachment followed by peer attachment with social focus coping strategy (r=.30). The inter-correlation between sub-scales of Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale was significant and positive ranging from r=.42 to r=.57. The study suggests the need to design a prevention and rehabilitation program targeting high-risk group teenagers. Teenagers need to develop positive self-respect and self-esteem as well as coping strategy through assertive training. This study addresses the limitation of data collection from rehabilitation centres under the provision of Social Welfare Department. Future study should also include qualitative approach to gain an in-depth understanding of how teenage pregnant girls develop positive coping strategies in the process of recovering. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. by Elsevier Ltd.

In the field of psychological research, more and more studies suggest ways that spirituality and religiosity is important in dealing with life's problems including flood disaster. Many mental health workers considered seeking a spiritual understanding of one's place in the universe is important in overall health and well-being including disaster management intervention. Given the potential effects of spiritual and religious beliefs on coping with traumatic events such as flood disaster, the study of the role of spirituality in fostering resilience in flood disaster survivors may facilitate the understanding of human adaptation to trauma. This paper is based on quantitative and qualitative approach conducted on three groups of flood victims from two different states in Malaysia. The findings show that there was no significant difference on spirituality among the two states studied. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Research on flood disasters in the past decade has impacted outcomes such as spirituality and social support. A number of studies have shown that flood also changes the vicitms' belief about themselves and meaning of life. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between spiritual and social support. The paper is based on a quantitative approach by conducting a survey on 764 flood victims. A questionnaire battery including a translated Malaysian version of spirituality and a Modified version of social support were administered to households in flood affected areas. All analysis were carried out using Statistical Package For The Social Science (SPSS Version 21). The study found that there was significant relationship between spirituality and social support (r=202**, family, r=286**, friends, r=210** and significant others, r=.448**) in flood victims. In sum, this study provide theoretical contributions to spirituality and social support research. The study of the role of spirituality and social support in fostering resilience in flood survivors may advance the understanding of human adaptation and coping to flood trauma. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

This study examined the relationship between stress and coping in a sample of 150 survivals of flood victims. Questionnaire used in this study were Disaster Stress and Coping Skill Inventory. The study also adopted an exploratory qualitative approach where a number of five respondents were interviewed. The result showed that there was a significant relationship between stress and coping, and no significant gender differences in stress and coping among the respondents. The result also showed that the respondents suffered stress and needed strong coping skills. Religion was found to be the most apparent coping skill among the victims. The implication of this study suggests strong religious and social support from people who are knowledgeable and skills in the stress management and religious coping to the flood victims (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/). Selection and Peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of PSYSOC 2013

Culture has a very important function in the daily lives of Malaysians. In spite of its importance, less attention has been paid to identifying Malaysian ethnic values from their own perspective. Most of previous studies have focused on a universal approach to identify the values of Malaysians. By addressing the gap, this paper hopes to identify a more comprehensive list of values related to Malaysian communication characteristics in flood disaster management context. Over the past decade, flood has become Malaysia's most common natural disaster. Sustainable flood mitigation and relief management is important as it reflects the ruling government for dealing with crisis. The psychological support on victims' wellbeing, during and after the disaster is substantial from the humanitarian perspective. Hence, this paper discusses the communication practices from indigenous perspective to help reduce the psychological impact of flooding. This paper presents qualitative data, based on in-depth interviews with 13 flood victims. The findings indicate that local values are important characteristics of effective communication surplus to the aids that bound to reduce the psychological impact of a disaster. This research intends to contribute in terms of the identification of the local code of conduct in communication in an attempt to obtain insights about flood disaster management. Besides, the outcome of the study could help to develop policies for aid agencies, information resources and community organisations in relation to the competency in communication to advocate the betterment and well-being of flood disaster victims.