Emotional Intelligence as a Mediator between Parenting Style and Antisocial Behavior among Youth in Malaysia

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The paper presents a set of data to prove realistic hypothesis. The analyis is well done and conclusions are clear.I have only minor comments that the authors might address:

Percentages in table 1 should contain only a decimal.

I would recommend to add information in the abstract on the 3 types of parenting styles.

In the limitations section or in the discussion could you add the perspective of the parenting in considering themselves having a specific profile, or a mixed of them, or developing some evolution through soon's age and maturing? That would add a more holistic view of your research.

Author Response

The paper presents a set of data to prove realistic hypothesis. The analyis is well done and conclusions are clear.I have only minor comments that the authors might address:

Percentages in table 1 should contain only a decimal.

This been corrected with one decimal point

I would recommend to add information in the abstract on the 3 types of parenting styles.

3 types of parenting styles been added

Authoritarian, permissive and authoritative

In the limitations section or in the discussion could you add the perspective of the parenting in considering themselves having a specific profile, or a mixed of them, or developing some evolution through soon's age and maturing? That would add a more holistic view of your research.

The discussion part been added in line 313-461

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments attached for authors to review.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Overall, well written. Some minor typos and grammatical typos.

Author Response

Thank you for the opportunity to review the manuscript titled “Emotional Intelligence as a

Mediator between Parenting Style and Antisocial Behavior among Youth in Malaysia”. I thought

it was an interesting paper that addresses an important topic by drawing on data from a unique

cultural context. My comments address some organizational as well as methodological concerns.

Abstract:

1. It would be helpful to clarify on line 17 that the objective of the study is to “investigate if

there is a mediation effect” given that later in the paper you provide null hypotheses.

Introduction: Generally well-written! Drew on appropriate theoretical perspectives to explain

why mediation analysis is relevant.

1. Minor spelling: Use theft instead of thievery—unless the latter is the word used in the

Malaysian penal code. If so, add a footnote for non-Asian readers.

The word thievery deleted replace with theft

out of the total crime cases reported such as theft, physical assault, house robbery

2. Authors discuss admission of pregnant teenagers in a social welfare center—is teen

pregnancy considered anti-social behavior? Is teen pregnancy considered a crime or

delinquent act in Malaysia? If so, please explain.

The resourse said pregnant teenagers are consider as delinquent behaviour

1. Zaid, S. (2020, November 2). Kes Bunuh: Polis Tahan Rakan Sekolah Mangsa. Berita Harian Online. https://www.bharian.com.my/berita/kes/2020/11/749060/kes- bunuh-polis-tahan-rakan-sekolah-mangsa

3. Provide a specific explanation/definition of emotional intelligence. How much

importance is placed on developing emotional intelligence in Malaysia?

Hypothesis development: Understood why authors approached the hypotheses as null given the

state of mixed findings related to the key variables. But it could be further clarified that there is

little research on this from Malaysia—or if it is from the country, then state specifically that it is

like you do for the Nigerian study in this section.

This is just to compare with Nigerian study but in Malaysia still very few research been done on parenting with anti-social behaviour

1. On line 98—shouldn’t it be that authoritative parenting is positively correlated with

emotional intelligence? Need to make the direction of variables clear.

The statement with positive significant been added

positive significant relationship between emotional intelligence and antisocial behavior among youth in Selangor, Malaysia

Research methodology: Generally explained well.

1. The first sentence is awkward describing quantitative research method. You can start with

the second sentence.

This research using survey form to collect the data- this been added as first sentences.

2. The authors explain informed consent for minors but there are no minors per Table 1 in

the study.

This statement been deleted for minor

An informed consent was gained form the parents/guardian of subject. This study was reviewed and approved by Universiti Malaysia Sabah [JKEtika 4/20 (11)].

Empirical findings: Needs revisions.

1. Some of Pearson’s correlation coefficient values (reported in Table 2) were interpreted as

likelihood results in text. This is incorrect. The correlation values tell us which

associations are significant and in which directions, but not the likelihood of inclusion in

one group or another. Please revise accordingly.

This been revise accordingly

2. Did the OLS models include control variables? If so, which ones? If not, they should be

included in separate models.

The analysis of all control variable is non-significant, I decided to remove them from the tables

This has been explained in direct and indirect analysis

3. Did mediation analysis include any control variables? Why or why not?
4. I am not an expert on mediation analysis so will defer to other reviewers and the

editor on any other specific feedback related to these models.

Discussion: Needs re-organization.

1. The first paragraph under theoretical implications reads as a conclusion. The practical

implications section is actually the discussion of the results. Some of that is tied back to

the theoretical perspectives presented in the introduction which make sense as a

discussion. If so, then the practical implications should relate to what can be done to

increase emotional intelligence outside of parenting and/or how to improve parenting

skills. The authors discuss those points very briefly in the last paragraph of this

subsection. What about implications for policymaking by the local or national

government?

This part been separated with discussion with clear explanation

2. The limitations are addressed appropriately but repeated again in the conclusion.

Conclusion: Needs revision as there is a lot of repetition from the limitations section.

The limitation been revised accordingly

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Papers that show that permissive or authoritative upbringing is more effective than authoritarian upbringing in deterring antisocial behaviors. Nowhere is it written why this study was necessary in Malaysia. Therefore, I have no idea what the significance of this study is. In the first half of your paper, you should explain what kind of country Malaysia is compared to other countries and what kind of research is needed. Hypotheses are presented in the first half of the paper. However, there is a lack of explanation as to why this is the case. Also, the Empirical Findings should state whether the hypothesis was supported or rejected. Also, possible reasons for supporting or denying the hypothesis should be stated in the discussion part. The authors conclude that authoritarians enhance antisocial behaviors. However, comparisons are difficult because the total effect is not shown. Total effect should be added to Table 4. In addition, the discussion part should also compare permissive parenting and authoritative parenting. The discussion is divided into two sections, "Theoretical implications" and "Practical implications", but the content cannot be called implication. Therefore, these subheadings should be deleted. A new Implication section should be provided separately from the Discussion section. It should be stated how this paper will be useful in society and in future research. Conclusion should describe the background, results, and implication of this paper. Limitations and vague future prospects should be deleted.

Author Response

Thank you so much for comprehensive review on my manuscript

Papers that show that permissive or authoritative upbringing is more effective than authoritarian upbringing in deterring antisocial behaviors. Nowhere is it written why this study was necessary in Malaysia. Therefore, I have no idea what the significance of this study is. In the first half of your paper, you should explain what kind of country Malaysia is compared to other countries and what kind of research is needed.

The cases of antisocial behavior among youth are increasing and government of Malaysia are associating this issue with parenting and monitoring system by parents

Statistics revealed that youth in the age category between 19 and 39 years constituted about 65% (which is equivalent to 83,401 individuals) of drug and substance abusers in Malaysia in 2020 [2]. In 2020, out of the total crime cases reported such as thievery, physical assault, house robbery, and rape, 538 involved school students as perpetrators [3].

This research also add with emotional intelligent as new variable between parenting styles and anti-social behavior

 Hypotheses are presented in the first half of the paper. However, there is a lack of explanation as to why this is the case. Also, the Empirical Findings should state whether the hypothesis was supported or rejected. Also, possible reasons for supporting or denying the hypothesis should be stated in the discussion part.

This been added

This been added from line 243- 277

The hypothesis supported or rejected been stated.

The authors conclude that authoritarians enhance antisocial behaviors. However, comparisons are difficult because the total effect is not shown. Total effect should be added to Table 4.

This statement been added

Emotional intelligence is accounted for 10.30% of the total effect between authoritarian parenting style and antisocial behavior’s.

 accounted for 10.30% of the total effect between authoritative parenting style and antisocial behaviors.

accounted for 49.66% of the total effect between authoritarian parenting style and antisocial behaviors.

 In addition, the discussion part should also compare permissive parenting and authoritative parenting. The discussion is divided into two sections, "Theoretical implications" and "Practical implications", but the content cannot be called implication.

This subtopic been deleted as requested

Therefore, these subheadings should be deleted. A new Implication section should be provided separately from the Discussion section. It should be stated how this paper will be useful in society and in future research. Conclusion should describe the background, results, and implication of this paper. Limitations and vague future prospects should be deleted.

The discussion part been added from line 313- 461 and conclusion been separated

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Thank you for addressing a majority of the comments. However, some work still required:

1. The abstract needs revising. The first sentence discusses antisocial behaviors generally and then suddenly focuses on substance use. It also does not define emotional intelligence or why it is important in the Malaysian context.

2. There is still no explanation of why emotional intelligence matters, and in the Malaysian context. It is a key independent variable but there is very little explanation of what it means and why it matters. Also, how is emotional intelligence viewed in Malaysia? Why is it a protective factor?

3. Please review text describing Pearson's coefficient values again to remove discussion of likelihood/probability interpretations.

4. I do not agree with the authors about not including null findings for the control variables. The way the table is presented suggests that only the independent variables were included in the OLS models. This is incorrect. Null findings also tell us something about the data. It should be included in the table reporting OLS Model results.

5. The implications section (4.3) repeats the same content twice. Please revise. You could consider including actual examples of programs from neighboring countries to support your recommendations.

Needs moderate copy editing for grammatical errors and minor typos throughout manuscript.

Author Response

Thank you for addressing most of the comments. However, some work still required:

1. The abstract needs revising. The first sentence discusses antisocial behaviors generally and then suddenly focuses on substance use.

The substance use been deleted  ( line 16)

Despite the relentless effort by the local government, educational institutions and the social community, antisocial behaviors are still rampant in society which showing that 65% of them involving in antisocial behavior are youth.

 It also does not define emotional intelligence or why it is important in the Malaysian context.

Definition Added in Line 21 to 24

Emotional intelligence is the ability to manage and understand one own’s emotion and also other’s emotions. Besides parent-child relationship, emotional intelligence also plays an important role in the relationship of youth and antisocial behaviors, as multiple studies have found that youth with higher emotional intelligence are less likely to engage with antisocial behaviors

2. There is still no explanation of why emotional intelligence matters, and in the Malaysian context. It is a key independent variable but there is very little explanation of what it means and why it matters. Also, how is emotional intelligence viewed in Malaysia? Why is it a protective factor?

Added in line 93 until line 110

Besides parent-child relationship, emotional intelligence also plays an important role in the relationship of youth and antisocial behaviours, as multiple studies have found that youth with higher emotional intelligence are less likely to engage with antisocial behaviours (Riasat et al., 2017; Megias et al., 2018; Bibi et al., 2019).

However, this assumption made in the current study were done based on studies found in Western countries, thus the assumption could be off due to cultural and geographical differences between Malaysian and other western countries. Therefore, this study is interested in finding the relationship between emotional intelligence and antisocial behavior, and if emotional intelligence acts as a mediator to the relationship between parenting styles and antisocial behavior.

The ability to manage emotions would help prevent an individual from acting impulsively or rashly such as engaging in fights, trying drugs or smoking for the first time, etc. Besides, being able to understand emotion also helps an individual to cope with their stress or intense emotions healthily, such as talking it out, taking a break, etc., instead of coping with maladaptive mechanism such as abusing substances, physically or verbally fighting others, or performing property crimes to let out anger. This shows that emotional intelligence is a protective factor against antisocial behaviours for youth.

3. Please review text describing Pearson's coefficient values again to remove discussion of likelihood/probability interpretations.

This been removed

4. I do not agree with the authors about not including null findings for the control variables. The way the table is presented suggests that only the independent variables were included in the OLS models. This is incorrect. Null findings also tell us something about the data. It should be included in the table reporting OLS Model results.

Added in line 343

The control variables been added

5. The implications section (4.3) repeats the same content twice. Please revise. You could consider including actual examples of programs from neighboring countries to support your recommendations.

This is been added

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

As pointed out last time, comparisons between models should be made. The authors should discuss which is better, Permissive Parenting Style or Authoritative Parenting Style. A hint is that the direct effect on antisocial behavior was not significant in the former. Being fully mediated by Emotional Intelligence, in other words, means that antisocial behavior can be reduced only if Permissive Parenting Style increases Emotional Intelligence. This should be discussed with reference to the negative arguments against Permissive Parenting Style. Next, the authors should discuss the possibility that Malaysian national character contributed to this result. The mere fact that there are many crimes among young people is not convincing as the significance of conducting this research in Malaysia. What kind of parenting is considered good in Malaysia? For example, Hofstede (1980) shows that Malaysia is a country with a large power gap, that is, a country with a moral that the lower should obey the higher. It should be discussed whether the results of this study were in light of the conventional beliefs about child rearing in Malaysia, and whether it was a new discovery.

Line 291 says "10.30%", but is the calculation correct? There is "49.66%" on line 299, but is the calculation correct?

Author Response

As pointed out last time, comparisons between models should be made. The authors should discuss which is better, Permissive Parenting Style or Authoritative Parenting Style. A hint is that the direct effect on antisocial behavior was not significant in the former. Being fully mediated by Emotional Intelligence, in other words, means that antisocial behavior can be reduced only if Permissive Parenting Style increases Emotional Intelligence. This should be discussed with reference to the negative arguments against Permissive Parenting Style.

This has been added in line 494

The results showed emotional intelligence fully mediated between permissive pareting style and anti-social behavior. This indicates children from permissive parents need higher emotional intelligence for them no to involve in anti-social behavior. Therefore, a permissive parenting style need to encourage their children to increase their emotional intelligence so that they can reduce to involve in anti-social behavior. [6,12-14]. 26]. Permissive parents are non-punitive and accept their children fully, regardless of their impulses, desires, and behaviors. Also, they gran27],

Next, the authors should discuss the possibility that Malaysian national character contributed to this result. The mere fact that there are many crimes among young people is not convincing as the significance of conducting this research in Malaysia. What kind of parenting is considered good in Malaysia? For example, Hofstede (1980) shows that Malaysia is a country with a large power gap, that is, a country with a moral that the lower should obey the higher. It should be discussed whether the results of this study were in light of the conventional beliefs about child rearing in Malaysia, and whether it was a new discovery.

Line 618 added

I strongly recommend that permissive parents should focus to develop emotional intelligent among their children. This will help their children to involve with anti-social behavior. This will help to increase positive social sustainability among children in Malaysia.

Line 291 says "10.30%", but is the calculation correct? There is "49.66%" on line 299, but is the calculation correct?

Line 291

and accounted for 10.30% of the total effect between authoritative parenting style and antisocial behaviors.

Line 299

and accounted for 49.66% of the total effect between authoritarian parenting style and antisocial behaviours.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 3

Reviewer 3 Report

The inconsistent conclusions about what kind of leadership is good in previous studies suggests that differences in the countries and regions in which the studies were conducted are having an effect. You should discuss in more detail what kind of country Malaysia is and what impact it has had on the outcome. For that, you should refer to more previous studies on locality in Malaysia.

Author Response

I have add some point in conclusion in line 624-645

Malaysia is notable for its plural society where there are major ethnic such as Malays followed by Chinese and Indians. [50]

Cross-cultural studies on parenting have shown the importance of culture plays important role in parenting style[51],  and parent-child relationship [52],

Family values are central to Malaysian but its rich ethnocultural elements influence on childrearing and relationship between parents and child. As multiracial country, some studies supported its collectivistic nature, although Malaysia seems showing a shift from collectivism to individualism due to urbanization process.

Even the finding of research shows permissive and authoritive parenting styles is good especially in reducing anti-social behavior however Asian authoritarian parenting should not be universally associated with negative outcome. It depends on parental involvement and psychological control (53).

Children from collectivistic societies especially like Malaysia are encouraged to follow rules and regulation from their parents strictly. This is also partly from the culture norms while those from individualistic societies are given more autonomy to make their own decision. It clearly shows that Malaysia still focusing on collectivistic societies where authoritarian parenting is better than those from individualistic societies. However, they may have difficulty in raising their children using authoritarian values in individualistic societies. Consequently, parenting styles are congruent with the cultural norms and social dimension of society, culturally- conformed parenting provides more positive and consistent experience for optimum family environment to thrive (54)

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf