A study of smartphone addiction, fear of rejection and interpersonal communication skills as preditors of social connectedness among Malaysian undergraduate students

Social connectedness is commonly referred to as a sense of being part of a group and community which is also considered a fundamental human need that may have an impact on one's health and well-being. However, many studies show a rise in emotions of disconnection, loneliness, and exclusion amon...

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Main Author: Kuek, Dewayne Hui En
Format: Final Year Project / Dissertation / Thesis
Published: 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:http://eprints.utar.edu.my/5441/
http://eprints.utar.edu.my/5441/1/fyp_GC_2023_DKHE.pdf
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author Kuek, Dewayne Hui En
author_facet Kuek, Dewayne Hui En
author_sort Kuek, Dewayne Hui En
building UTAR Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Social connectedness is commonly referred to as a sense of being part of a group and community which is also considered a fundamental human need that may have an impact on one's health and well-being. However, many studies show a rise in emotions of disconnection, loneliness, and exclusion among undergraduates. Thus, the present study mainly aims to examine the relationships between social connectedness (SC), smartphone addiction (SA), fear of rejection (FOR), and interpersonal communication skills (ICS) among undergraduate students in Malaysia by using the cross-sectional research design. While 240 Malaysian’ respondents were recruited by purposive sampling and answered the Google Forms online questionnaire that was shared via Instagram, Messenger, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, and WeChat. The respondents were 18 to 25-year-old university students from Malaysia (M = 21.8; SD = 1.43). Overall, it had more female respondents (n= 153; 65.1%) than male respondents (n= 82; 34.9%). The reliable instruments used were the Social Connectedness Scale-Revised (SCS-R), Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Form (SAS-SV), Fear of Rejection Scale, and Interpersonal Communication Competence Scale-Short Form (ICCS-SF). The hypotheses were tested through Pearson product moment correlation and multiple linear regression analysis. The study’s findings showed that there is a significant relationship between social connectedness with SA (negatively) and FOR (negatively), and ICS (positively). In addition, the finding showed that SA may not significantly predict social connectedness, but FOR (negatively) and ICS (positively) can significantly predict social connectedness. In conclusion, this study has provided significant knowledge on the relationship between social connectedness, SA, FOR, and ICS. It may benefit future research and counsellor to create an effective intervention plan to aid their clients.
first_indexed 2025-11-15T19:38:08Z
format Final Year Project / Dissertation / Thesis
id utar-5441
institution Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-15T19:38:08Z
publishDate 2023
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling utar-54412023-08-10T09:16:11Z A study of smartphone addiction, fear of rejection and interpersonal communication skills as preditors of social connectedness among Malaysian undergraduate students Kuek, Dewayne Hui En H Social Sciences (General) HA Statistics T Technology (General) Social connectedness is commonly referred to as a sense of being part of a group and community which is also considered a fundamental human need that may have an impact on one's health and well-being. However, many studies show a rise in emotions of disconnection, loneliness, and exclusion among undergraduates. Thus, the present study mainly aims to examine the relationships between social connectedness (SC), smartphone addiction (SA), fear of rejection (FOR), and interpersonal communication skills (ICS) among undergraduate students in Malaysia by using the cross-sectional research design. While 240 Malaysian’ respondents were recruited by purposive sampling and answered the Google Forms online questionnaire that was shared via Instagram, Messenger, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, and WeChat. The respondents were 18 to 25-year-old university students from Malaysia (M = 21.8; SD = 1.43). Overall, it had more female respondents (n= 153; 65.1%) than male respondents (n= 82; 34.9%). The reliable instruments used were the Social Connectedness Scale-Revised (SCS-R), Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Form (SAS-SV), Fear of Rejection Scale, and Interpersonal Communication Competence Scale-Short Form (ICCS-SF). The hypotheses were tested through Pearson product moment correlation and multiple linear regression analysis. The study’s findings showed that there is a significant relationship between social connectedness with SA (negatively) and FOR (negatively), and ICS (positively). In addition, the finding showed that SA may not significantly predict social connectedness, but FOR (negatively) and ICS (positively) can significantly predict social connectedness. In conclusion, this study has provided significant knowledge on the relationship between social connectedness, SA, FOR, and ICS. It may benefit future research and counsellor to create an effective intervention plan to aid their clients. 2023-01 Final Year Project / Dissertation / Thesis NonPeerReviewed application/pdf http://eprints.utar.edu.my/5441/1/fyp_GC_2023_DKHE.pdf Kuek, Dewayne Hui En (2023) A study of smartphone addiction, fear of rejection and interpersonal communication skills as preditors of social connectedness among Malaysian undergraduate students. Final Year Project, UTAR. http://eprints.utar.edu.my/5441/
spellingShingle H Social Sciences (General)
HA Statistics
T Technology (General)
Kuek, Dewayne Hui En
A study of smartphone addiction, fear of rejection and interpersonal communication skills as preditors of social connectedness among Malaysian undergraduate students
title A study of smartphone addiction, fear of rejection and interpersonal communication skills as preditors of social connectedness among Malaysian undergraduate students
title_full A study of smartphone addiction, fear of rejection and interpersonal communication skills as preditors of social connectedness among Malaysian undergraduate students
title_fullStr A study of smartphone addiction, fear of rejection and interpersonal communication skills as preditors of social connectedness among Malaysian undergraduate students
title_full_unstemmed A study of smartphone addiction, fear of rejection and interpersonal communication skills as preditors of social connectedness among Malaysian undergraduate students
title_short A study of smartphone addiction, fear of rejection and interpersonal communication skills as preditors of social connectedness among Malaysian undergraduate students
title_sort study of smartphone addiction, fear of rejection and interpersonal communication skills as preditors of social connectedness among malaysian undergraduate students
topic H Social Sciences (General)
HA Statistics
T Technology (General)
url http://eprints.utar.edu.my/5441/
http://eprints.utar.edu.my/5441/1/fyp_GC_2023_DKHE.pdf