Editor's Closing Remarks: Tomorrow is here

In agreement with our publisher, this is our seventh and last year as the online Journal of Tropical Psychology.

Validation of the CASP-19 Quality of Life Measure in Three Languages in Malaysia

The CASP-19 is an age-specific measure of quality of life. It comprises four domains: control, autonomy, self-realisation and pleasure, and is widely used in large cohort studies in temperate climates. Our objective was to translate the CASP-19 into Bahasa Malaysia and validate it for use in older Malaysians in their three commonly used languages of English, Bahasa Malaysia and Traditional Chinese. CASP-19 showed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability with acceptable construct validity compared with the 12-item short-form health survey. Factor analysis found the best fit for the Taiwanese five-domain model. The validity of CASP-19 may be limited by cultural differences.

Hurricane Maria, personal and collective suffering, and psychosocial support as a cross-cutting intervention

Here we discuss the role of psychosocial support activities in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. We report comments from 630 survivors from 22 towns. The focus is given to reactions, risk factors and resilience. The responses of the survivors were divided into individual and community losses. We propose that the response to such a catastrophic event was psychosocial and give suggestions for psychosocial support during future disaster responses.

The Future Will Be Better Tomorrow

It was 2012 in Singapore. There I saw a young boy in a mall wearing this hopeful T-shirt message: “The future will be better tomorrow.” This paradox of incidental wisdom suggests that our future path can be changed and we are the artists.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: an Aboriginal perspective on diagnosis and intervention

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) arising from a Western health model has generated much global debate about its relevance in Indigenous communities. More importantly, it has raised questions concerning acceptance of its diagnosis and intervention, hence affecting early identification and treatment compliance. The current study explored an Aboriginal perspective of diagnosis and treatment compliance of ADHD in an Australian Aboriginal community. Using a qualitative approach, 27 participants aged between 22 and 52 years from a Western Australian metropolitan Aboriginal community comprising community members, Aboriginal mental health and education professionals, and Aboriginal parents of children with ADHD, were interviewed either individually or in groups. Participants identified differences in child rearing practices, expectation of child behaviour in school, higher tolerance of hyperactive behaviour within the Aboriginal community and lack of information about ADHD as the main reasons for parents not seeking medical help for the child. Participants also saw the changes in a child's behaviour after medication as a loss of identity/self and this was reported to be the main contributor to treatment non-compliance. Overall, most participants recognised the detrimental effect of having ADHD. However, the current diagnostic process and treatment are not culturally appropriate to assist the Aboriginal community to effectively manage this disorder in their children.

Culturally Competent Practice: Experiences of Students, Academics, and Alumni of Clinical Psychology Degrees in Singapore

This is the first research in Singapore into preparation for culturally competent practice in professional clinical psychology training programmes. It analyses experiences of multicultural clinical psychology training and practice and asks how well current programmes are meeting the needs for cultural competency. These questions were explored with qualitative data from interviews about multicultural practice with five students, five academics and five alumni of clinical psychology. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis revealed four themes: highlighting the culture of clinical psychology, the cultural context of training and practice, cultural competencies, and pathways for developing cultural competency. These outcomes demonstrate that the training programmes are considered valuable for improving psychological service provision in Singapore, although improvements to these programmes are desired for cultural competency development. These findings point to the need for particular competencies to be developed, as well as at directions for further research that may benefit clinical psychology training.

A New Global Dynamic – Recognising the Importance of the Tropics

The recent declaration of 29 June as the United Nations International Day of the Tropics recognises the critical importance of the world's tropical zone. Accounting for 42 per cent of the world's population and 55 per cent of its children, it is also the most biologically and culturally diverse region on Earth. Economic growth in the region remains high even though the Tropics carries a greater burden of disease and has poorer mortality rates than the rest of the world. This article discusses the importance of the tropical zone and reports on discussions held at the United Nations to mark the inaugural International Day of the Tropics. Now more than ever, we recognise that if the world is to achieve the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, the countries and territories of the Tropics will be essential.

Exploring five factor model personality traits as predictors of burnout dimensions among college students in the Philippines

Burnout occurs among students when they suddenly lose interest in their studies due to feeling physically and emotionally drained. They experience further emotional depletion due to study demands, distrustfulness and detachment about their work. This study investigated the relationship between the Five-Factor Model (FFM) personality traits and burnout, as operationalised by Maslach's three dimensions of burnout, namely exhaustion, cynicism and reduced personal efficacy. Previous Western research was replicated in order to contribute to the cross-cultural literature on burnout. The Maslach Burnout Inventory – Student Survey University Form and the NEO – Personality Inventory Revised Form S were subjected to stepwise forward regression using FFM factors and facets to predict the scores on each burnout dimension. Five hundred and seventy-seven Filipino college students (age 17 to 24) from private universities and colleges within Metro Manila participated. Results revealed that neuroticism and conscientiousness predict all three burnout constructs. However, certain facets of neuroticism and conscientiousness are more important than others. At the facet level, facets of agreeableness and openness contributed to prediction of burnout as well.

Comparative study on social-economic status, trauma and mental health disorders among older and younger refugees in Australia

This article investigated socio-economic status (SES), traumatic experience and mental health disorders among 103 refugees (52 males and 51 females) living in tropical and subtropical Australia. Specific focus was placed on comparing older refugees’ socio-economic status, traumatic experience and mental health disorders to younger refugees. The results showed that older refugees had lower levels of education, higher unemployment rates and poorer English skills and abilities compared to younger refugees. A greater percentage of older refugees perceived that they had received sufficient support from the broader community over younger refugees. Results also revealed that compared to younger participants, older participants aged over 50 years had significantly higher mean scores in trauma events (trauma exposure, loss event, loss of intrapersonal integrity, loss distress, loss of symbolic self, loss of home and interpersonal loss) and anxiety.