Rachel Sing-Kiat Ting
Biographic Data
| ID | 126515 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Rachel Sing-Kiat Ting |
| GIVEN NAMES | Rachel Sing-Kiat |
| FAMILY NAME | Ting |
| SIGNATURE | TING R S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Monash University Malaysia |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2932-9593 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 36 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 18 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 36 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Strong‐Ties and Weak‐Ties Rationalities
In this study, we test the theory of strong‐ties and weak‐ties rationalities (STWTR) (Sundararajan 2020) and the criterion validity of its measures using strong‐ties rationality and weak‐ties rationality scales to predict COVID‐19 related perceptions and behaviours. These include public stigma, help‐seeking networks, and health behaviours across four societies (Han‐Chinese, Chinese‐Malaysians, Malay‐Malaysians, and White‐Australians, n = 918). Th…
Culture as an ontological universe
This article proposes a model of culture that adds an ontological dimension to conventional wisdom that approaches culture as social-ecological environments and associated practices. This new model entails a paradigm shift from epistemology to ontology and from a downstream to an upstream analysis of culture. The heuristic value of this novel model of culture consists in (1) rendering visible and intelligible the ontological universe of cultural …
A Scoping Review on Interventions in Educational Contexts to Support Students Exposed to War
Global conflicts and wars can have catastrophic impacts on children’s social-emotional and learning outcomes, which require evidence-based interventions to help mitigate these traumatic and educational effects. This scoping review aimed to identify approaches designed to support students and/or teachers and parents/caregivers in educational contexts when students have been exposed to war or global conflict. Following the PRISMA approach for condu…
Cultural formation and determinants of HIV stigma among a minority group in Southwest China
Deeply ingrained cultural beliefs shape how HIV is framed and stigmatized, particularly among rural minoritized communities such as the Yi-Nuosu of Liangshan, China. This parallel-convergent mixed-methods study investigated the sociocultural formation and determinants of HIV-related stigma among Yi-Nuosu minorities. We conducted qualitative interviews with 19 Yi-Nuosu participants to understand local beliefs about the HIV-illness course and perce…
Causal Attribution and Emotion Expression of Suffering Among Southeast Asian Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous people, particularly minorities in Southeast Asia (SEA), often face hardships due to colonization, displacement, and deforestation. However, studies on their subjective suffering experiences are sparse. Therefore, the present study aimed to conduct a systemic review of literature concerning SEA indigenous people’s cognition and emotion in suffering events. A rigorous literature search following PRISMA guidelines was conducted on the fo…
A qualitative study on the perceptions toward illness and modern health care among Indigenous people in Peninsular Malaysia
Due to the low utilization of modern health care among the Indigenous population, this qualitative study aims to explore their perceptions toward illness and modern health care. We employed fieldwork and interviewed 26 Indigenous participants in Malaysia. Through consensus thematic analysis, the transcripts were coded into four domains—type of illnesses encountered, explanations for illnesses, help-seeking methods, and determinants of health care…
Development and validation of a digital community-based mental health protocol (Relate-ME) in Malaysia
To bridge the gaps of mental health service in Malaysia, we developed a digital intervention protocol (RELATE-ME) aiming to restore social connectedness and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Co-designed with a cross-disciplinary panel, we integrate principles of digital mental health, support group modality, psychoeducation elements, and community engagement into a 2-week online group program. To validate the protocol, we trained …
Decolonizing mental health practice through traditional healing frameworks
Decolonial and liberation psychology aims to understand and address the social and epistemic injustices in our mental health systems, practices, and research agenda. To advance this goal, we advocate for deeper engagement with traditional healing systems practiced by various Indigenous Peoples and cultural groups around the world. In this article, we consider examples of Indigenous healing from Canada, China, Singapore, and the United States, to …
Decolonial research practices from an indigenous psychology perspective
The indigenous psychology (IP) movement has challenged mainstream psychology, which is considered rooted in colonial legacies, and has advocated for locally informed and developed theories and practices. The article explores the nexus of IP and decolonial psychology, emphasizes the need to challenge Western-centric hegemony, and promotes a contextually rich, relational paradigm based on reflexivity. IP critiques the Euro-American methodologism an…
Teaching & Learning Guide for
The field of social and personality psychology grapples with a global “replication crisis”—difficulties in the reproduction of comparable findings to original studies (Arnett 2008; Atherton et al. 2021; Power et al. 2023). This is attributed in part to a lack of diversity in sampling, with a majority of existing studies deriving findings from Western, Educated, Industrial, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) populations (Henrich et al. 2010; Schiavone a…
Beyond the Lab—Proposing an Indigenous Psychologies Research Paradigm
To align with the goal of this section, we propose an ontological turn to the psychology research paradigm that extends beyond mainstream methodology. Drawing on the existing literature of indigenous psychology (IP) and two qualitative studies from Singapore and Malaysia, we critically examine the differences of epistemology and methodology between mainstream approaches in Western psychology and the IP approach to the culturally different other. …
A qualitative study exploring the epistemology of suffering within a Malaysian Indigenous tribe
Despite the universal nature of suffering, few studies have examined how Indigenous ethnic minorities in non-western regions understand and respond to adversity. This study explored the epistemology of suffering among the Temiar ethnic group of Peninsular Malaysia using participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Interview transcripts of 43 participants were coded through inductive thematic analysis and a consensual qualitative approa…
An ecological model of experienced stigma during the Covid-19 pandemic
In this paper, we adopted an ecological model and relational cognition framework to decolonize pandemic stigma in a non-WEIRD society. We reconstructed the concept of pandemic stigma in an ex-colonized and multicultural society of Southeast Asia region, by conducting a qualitative study in Malaysia to explore their lived experiences of differential treatment during the COVID-19 Pandemic from 2020 to 2022. We interviewed 30 Malaysians aged 18-64 o…
A meeting report from Seaip ‐2023
This report introduces the development of the Southeast Asian Indigenous Psychology (SEAIP) network and the outcomes of the SEAIP‐2023 conference. First, we summarize four priorities of SEAIP research that evolved throughout the years; next, we propose four action plans in translating our research into practice. Our report aims to inspire Asian psychologists, especially the younger generation of scholars, to join and contribute to the development…
A preliminary study on the relationship between cultural identification, racial discrimination, and well-being of Chinese Malaysians Young adults
It was well documented that racial minorities struggle with discrimination that jeopardizes their mental well-being. However, the interaction between cultural identification (CI) and mother tongue (MT) on perceived discrimination among minority communities was unclear. This study adopted a cross-sectional survey to investigate how different Chinese in Malaysia (CIM) groups experience in-group versus out-group discrimination based on their MT, and…
A systematic review on the cultural factors associated with stigma during pandemics
Both public stigma and perceived self-stigma are prevalent during pandemics threatening a divide among the global community. This systematic review examined the cultural factors associated with viral respiratory-related pandemic stigma. Following PRISMA guidelines, the keywords, “culture, stigma, and pandemic” were searched across relevant databases for empirical papers between January 2000 to March 2022. Quality assessment and coding were adopte…
Bidimensional self-esteem and sexual functioning among young adults
Sexual difficulties marked by poor sexual functioning is often reported by young adults, where young adulthood is an important period for the formation of intimacy in relationships. There has been increasing research showing the relationship between global self-esteem and sexual functioning, but this association is seldom examined through the bidimensional framework of self-esteem that includes domains of self-liking and self-competence. Thus, th…
The relationship between strong‐ties weak‐ties rationality and Covid ‐19 public stigma
We investigated the relationship between strong‐ties versus weak‐ties rationality and public stigma (PS) during the COVID‐19 pandemic. We also explored the cultural group differences (Malaysians vs. Australians) in this relationship. An online survey was conducted in 2021 with a final sample of 830 eligible Malaysians and 394 eligible Australians. Participants completed the multidimensional strong‐ties weak‐ties rationality Scale (STWTRS) and an …
In the wake of religious conversions
Mapping culture and rationality across four countries
A cross-cultural study of strong ties and weak ties rationalities
The Relationship Between Stigma and Social Support to Quality of Life in Indonesia and the Philippines During the Covid-19 Pandemic
The importance of quality of life (QoL) was magnified as countries faced the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to determine the relationship between COVID-19-related stigma and preferred social support to QoL in two Southeast Asian countries. This paper examined (1) the differences in the physical and psychological dimensions of QoL (QoL-PSY, QoL-PHL), COVID-19 perceived stigma (PcS) and public stigma (PS), and preferred social support (PSS) be…
A Pioneering Effort to Give Voices to Indigenous Psychology in Southeast Asia
Constructing Gay Male Identity in a Multicultural Society
Malaysia is a multiethnic and multireligious country in Asia that provides a rich landscape for the study of intersectional influences on sexual identity development. This study adopted a constructivist grounded theory research design to explore sexual identity development in 36 Malaysian gay males of varying ethnicities and religious affiliations. We proposed a five-stage Systemic Interaction Model (SIM) that theorizes sexual identity developmen…
A Mixed-Methods Study on Religiosity, Pandemic Beliefs, and Psychological Well-Being During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Malaysia
This paper examines the association between religious identity, religiosity (internal vs external), and psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from two cross-sectional surveys were used to test these associations among Malaysians from the three major religious groups—Muslims, Christians, and Buddhists—as well as mixed qualitative coding on illness beliefs and helpful resources. During the pandemic, higher religiosity was asso…
Culture, Cognition, and Emotion in China's Religious Ethnic Minorities
Constructing Gay Male Identity in a Multicultural Society
Malaysia is a multiethnic and multireligious country in Asia that provides a rich landscape for the study of intersectional influences on sexual identity development. This study adopted a constructivist grounded theory research design to explore sexual identity development in 36 Malaysian gay males of varying ethnicities and religious affiliations. We proposed a five-stage Systemic Interaction Model (SIM) that theorizes sexual identity developmen…
A qualitative study exploring the epistemology of suffering within a Malaysian Indigenous tribe
Despite the universal nature of suffering, few studies have examined how Indigenous ethnic minorities in non-western regions understand and respond to adversity. This study explored the epistemology of suffering among the Temiar ethnic group of Peninsular Malaysia using participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Interview transcripts of 43 participants were coded through inductive thematic analysis and a consensual qualitative approa…
The Worldviews of Healing Traditions in the East and West
Beyond the Lab—Proposing an Indigenous Psychologies Research Paradigm
To align with the goal of this section, we propose an ontological turn to the psychology research paradigm that extends beyond mainstream methodology. Drawing on the existing literature of indigenous psychology (IP) and two qualitative studies from Singapore and Malaysia, we critically examine the differences of epistemology and methodology between mainstream approaches in Western psychology and the IP approach to the culturally different other. …
A Mixed-Methods Study on Religiosity, Pandemic Beliefs, and Psychological Well-Being During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Malaysia
This paper examines the association between religious identity, religiosity (internal vs external), and psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from two cross-sectional surveys were used to test these associations among Malaysians from the three major religious groups—Muslims, Christians, and Buddhists—as well as mixed qualitative coding on illness beliefs and helpful resources. During the pandemic, higher religiosity was asso…
Bidimensional self-esteem and sexual functioning among Malaysian young adults
Despite typically being studied as a unidimensional construct, self-esteem has been proposed to comprise of two distinct but highly correlated domains: self-competence and self-liking. This study aimed to examine how the two domains of self-esteem predict the sexual functioning of young adults in Malaysia, and the potential role of relationship status as a moderator. A total of 314 Malaysian young adults aged 21.08 years on average (SD = 1.84) co…
Use of Religious Resources in Psychotherapy from a Tradition-Sensitive Approach
Is Suffering Good? An Explorative Study on the Religious Persecution among Chinese Pastors
Human suffering is a major concern to the fields of psychology and theology; however, the effect of suffering is controversial to many. In this study, nine Chinese pastors, who had experienced religious persecution to the extent of confinement, were interviewed about their experiences during the persecution, the effect related to their suffering, and their ways of coping. The transcripts were coded into major themes by adapting a hermeneutic phen…
Use of Religious Resources in Psychotherapy from a Tradition-Sensitive Approach
The Worldviews of Healing Traditions in the East and West
Supporting Pastoral Psychology in China
Although the psychology and counseling profession is rapidly emerging in socialist China, practicing pastoral psychology in China is still a recent trend in various religious settings. Since 2004, Fuller Graduate School of Psychology has been involved in empowering pastoral counselors in China. Over the years, we have related to over 200 pastoral counselors in China in the context of local seminars, intensive workshops and classes, conferences, a…
Celebrating Life and Death
When the Sichuan earthquake occurred in 2008, some “Chinese psychological experts” brought harm to the local survivors by immediately focusing on the pathological effects of trauma and on diagnosing PTSD. Since then, more awareness of a culturally-sensitive approach to psychological relief work during emergencies and disasters has been raised locally and internationally. In 2010, when an earthquake shook the Tibetan community of Yushu in Qinghai,…
Culture, Cognition, and Emotion in China's Religious Ethnic Minorities
Resilience revisited
This study attempts to widen the conceptual space of resilience in (Western) psychology in order to better capture the resilience landscape of an ethnic minority group ravaged by the HIV/AIDS pandemic—the Nuosu-Yi in Southwest China. Without decolonizing the construct of resilience, non-Western versions of coping with adversities cannot be properly understood. Our process of decolonization of resilience involved two steps: First, we conducted sem…
Religiousness and Quality of Life Among Older Adults of Different Ethnic Groups in Malaysia
Religion, cognition, and emotion
As cultural conflicts are intensifying locally and internationally in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic, fine-tuned investigation of culture/religion, especially that of the marginalized populations, holds the potential to reduce disparity and suffering in the global village This study used 3 textual analysis programs-Topic Modeling, C-LIWC, and SSWC-Chinese-to shed light on the differences in cognition and emotion between two communities with r…
Assessing the Efficacy of Contextualized Group Counseling Education in Asia
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10447-022-09471-3
Bidimensional self-esteem and sexual functioning among Malaysian young adults
Despite typically being studied as a unidimensional construct, self-esteem has been proposed to comprise of two distinct but highly correlated domains: self-competence and self-liking. This study aimed to examine how the two domains of self-esteem predict the sexual functioning of young adults in Malaysia, and the potential role of relationship status as a moderator. A total of 314 Malaysian young adults aged 21.08 years on average (SD = 1.84) co…
A cross-cultural study of strong ties and weak ties rationalities
The Relationship Between Stigma and Social Support to Quality of Life in Indonesia and the Philippines During the Covid-19 Pandemic
The importance of quality of life (QoL) was magnified as countries faced the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to determine the relationship between COVID-19-related stigma and preferred social support to QoL in two Southeast Asian countries. This paper examined (1) the differences in the physical and psychological dimensions of QoL (QoL-PSY, QoL-PHL), COVID-19 perceived stigma (PcS) and public stigma (PS), and preferred social support (PSS) be…
A Pioneering Effort to Give Voices to Indigenous Psychology in Southeast Asia
Constructing Gay Male Identity in a Multicultural Society
Malaysia is a multiethnic and multireligious country in Asia that provides a rich landscape for the study of intersectional influences on sexual identity development. This study adopted a constructivist grounded theory research design to explore sexual identity development in 36 Malaysian gay males of varying ethnicities and religious affiliations. We proposed a five-stage Systemic Interaction Model (SIM) that theorizes sexual identity developmen…
A Mixed-Methods Study on Religiosity, Pandemic Beliefs, and Psychological Well-Being During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Malaysia
This paper examines the association between religious identity, religiosity (internal vs external), and psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from two cross-sectional surveys were used to test these associations among Malaysians from the three major religious groups—Muslims, Christians, and Buddhists—as well as mixed qualitative coding on illness beliefs and helpful resources. During the pandemic, higher religiosity was asso…
A meeting report from Seaip ‐2023
This report introduces the development of the Southeast Asian Indigenous Psychology (SEAIP) network and the outcomes of the SEAIP‐2023 conference. First, we summarize four priorities of SEAIP research that evolved throughout the years; next, we propose four action plans in translating our research into practice. Our report aims to inspire Asian psychologists, especially the younger generation of scholars, to join and contribute to the development…
A preliminary study on the relationship between cultural identification, racial discrimination, and well-being of Chinese Malaysians Young adults
It was well documented that racial minorities struggle with discrimination that jeopardizes their mental well-being. However, the interaction between cultural identification (CI) and mother tongue (MT) on perceived discrimination among minority communities was unclear. This study adopted a cross-sectional survey to investigate how different Chinese in Malaysia (CIM) groups experience in-group versus out-group discrimination based on their MT, and…
A systematic review on the cultural factors associated with stigma during pandemics
Both public stigma and perceived self-stigma are prevalent during pandemics threatening a divide among the global community. This systematic review examined the cultural factors associated with viral respiratory-related pandemic stigma. Following PRISMA guidelines, the keywords, “culture, stigma, and pandemic” were searched across relevant databases for empirical papers between January 2000 to March 2022. Quality assessment and coding were adopte…
Bidimensional self-esteem and sexual functioning among young adults
Sexual difficulties marked by poor sexual functioning is often reported by young adults, where young adulthood is an important period for the formation of intimacy in relationships. There has been increasing research showing the relationship between global self-esteem and sexual functioning, but this association is seldom examined through the bidimensional framework of self-esteem that includes domains of self-liking and self-competence. Thus, th…
The relationship between strong‐ties weak‐ties rationality and Covid ‐19 public stigma
We investigated the relationship between strong‐ties versus weak‐ties rationality and public stigma (PS) during the COVID‐19 pandemic. We also explored the cultural group differences (Malaysians vs. Australians) in this relationship. An online survey was conducted in 2021 with a final sample of 830 eligible Malaysians and 394 eligible Australians. Participants completed the multidimensional strong‐ties weak‐ties rationality Scale (STWTRS) and an …
In the wake of religious conversions
Mapping culture and rationality across four countries
Development and validation of a digital community-based mental health protocol (Relate-ME) in Malaysia
To bridge the gaps of mental health service in Malaysia, we developed a digital intervention protocol (RELATE-ME) aiming to restore social connectedness and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Co-designed with a cross-disciplinary panel, we integrate principles of digital mental health, support group modality, psychoeducation elements, and community engagement into a 2-week online group program. To validate the protocol, we trained …
Decolonizing mental health practice through traditional healing frameworks
Decolonial and liberation psychology aims to understand and address the social and epistemic injustices in our mental health systems, practices, and research agenda. To advance this goal, we advocate for deeper engagement with traditional healing systems practiced by various Indigenous Peoples and cultural groups around the world. In this article, we consider examples of Indigenous healing from Canada, China, Singapore, and the United States, to …
Psychology (26 works) · Social Psychology (19 works) · Sociology (16 works) · Cultural Differences and Values (11 works) · Indigenous (11 works) · Social Psychology (9 works) · Community Health and Development (8 works) · Medicine (8 works) · Ecology (7 works) · Ethnic group (7 works)