International Journal of Public Health Science (IJPHS)

Vol. 13, No. 4, December 2024, pp. 1769~1774

ISSN: 2252-8806, DOI: 10.11591/ijphs.v13i4.24030  1769

Nice couple, funny couple, happy couple: emotional intelligence,

humor style, and relationship satisfaction

Niya Treza Sunil, Anasuya Jegathevi Jegathesan, Kususanto Ditto Prihadi

Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Social Sciences, University of Cyberjaya, Cyberjaya, Malaysia

Article Info ABSTRACT

Article history: This study explores the interplay of emotional intelligence (EI), beneficial
humor styles (BHS), and relationship satisfaction (RS) within romantic
Received Oct 6, 2023 relationships. Drawing on the social exchange theory, it examines whether
Revised May 9, 2024 BHS mediate the relationship between EI and RS. Data was collected from
Accepted May 18, 2024 individuals aged 18 to 65 in romantic relationships, and analyses were
conducted using bootstrapping methods. Results reveal a significant positive
direct effect of EI on RS. However, the mediation analysis suggests that
Keywords: BHS do not mediate the relationship between EI and RS, indicating that EI's
impact on RS remains independent of humor styles. These findings
Beneficial humor style underscore the distinct and substantial roles of EI and BHS in predicting RS.
Emotional intelligence While both factors contribute to RS, they do so independently. This study
Humor styles enhances our understanding of the multifaceted factors influencing romantic
Mental wellbeing relationship dynamics and highlights the importance of emotional
Relationship satisfaction intelligence and humor styles in fostering relationship satisfaction.
Social exchange theory Limitations include self-report measures and a limited age range, suggesting
the need for further research to explore these dynamics across diverse
populations.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA license.

Corresponding Author:
Anasuya Jegathevi Jegathesan
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Social Sciences, University of Cyberjaya
Persiaran Bestari, Cyber 11, Cyberjaya, Selangor-63000, Malaysia
Email: [email protected]

1. INTRODUCTION
Relationship satisfaction has been identified as a significant protective factor for mental health. A
longitudinal analysis conducted in the UK reported that lower mental health is associated with lower satisfaction
with partners [1]. This study also highlighted a potential ‘vicious circle’ between satisfaction with partners and
mental health for males, suggesting that investment in mental health provision can improve satisfaction with
partners, which in turn will further enhance health and well-being. Another study reported that relationship
satisfaction (RS) is significantly, positively related to all six domains of the health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II
(HPLP-II) [2], with the strongest correlations found between relationship satisfaction and stress management,
interpersonal relations, and spiritual growth. This indicates that individuals who are more satisfied with their
relationships engage in more health-promoting behaviors, which can contribute to better mental health [3].
Furthermore, social connection, which includes relationship satisfaction, is the strongest protective factor for
depression [4]. Confirming that, studies on mental health among adults across age groups suggested that the
sense that one matters and is connected to others significantly lowered the symptoms anxiety [5] depression [6],
and even the development of suicide ideation [7].
In addition to relationship satisfaction, humor, and emotional intelligence have also been identified
as protective factors for mental health. A study published in Frontiers in Psychology found a significant

Journal homepage: http://ijphs.iaescore.com

1770  ISSN: 2252-8806

positive correlation between emotional intelligence, flourishing, and positive humor styles [8]. This suggests
that individuals with higher emotional intelligence are more likely to use positive or adaptive humor styles,
which can contribute to better mental health. Another study reported that emotional intelligence is a
protective resource that can buffer the effects of stressors in certain contexts, including the experience of
stress due to interpersonal relationships through social media stress [9]. This highlights the role of emotional
intelligence in managing stress and promoting mental health.
The quality of relationships has a profound impact on an individual’s mental well-being [10].
Recent trends indicate a global increase in divorce rates a situation further exacerbated by the challenges
posed by the COVID-19 pandemic [11]. This study seeks to address these issues by probing the connection
between emotional intelligence (EI), beneficial humor styles (BHS), and relationship satisfaction (RS); the
objective of this study is to ascertain whether BHS mediate the relationship between EI and RS. The social
exchange theory by Emerson [12] forms the theoretical framework for this study, focusing on understanding
relationship satisfaction. It emphasizes the “cost-effect” algorithm individuals employ to weigh the benefits
and risks of a relationship. According to Emerson’s theory, partners in a relationship tend to assess their
benefit and cost of the relationship they are in; when they can perceive an acceptable balance between the
two, they would likely to be more satisfied with their relationship [13]. In general, RS encompasses an
individual's overall sense of happiness and contentment within a romantic union. Extensive It was established
that heightened RS [14] is intricately linked to enhanced physical and psychological well-being. Apart from
that, a plethora of factors exert influence over relationship satisfaction, spanning personality traits,
attachment styles, cultural nuances, and the quality of communication. The latter, communication skills, play
pivotal role in supporting other factors that have been developed between the partners such as intimacy,
commitment, and passion within the realm of romantic relationships [15]. Communication skills, the ability
to present, obtain, accept, or turn down one another’s idea with minimum conflict in various setting, is
significantly linked to EI [16], individuals with adequate EI are likely to have stronger communication skills
that keep the relationship satisfying. The statement was also supported by the report that individuals endowed
with higher emotional intelligence tend to experience elevated relationship satisfaction levels and possess
superior conflict resolution skills [17].
It was also established that individuals with higher EI tend to know how to integrate humor to
maintain and improve hope, resilience, and relationships satisfaction [18], [19]. Supporting that, a meta-
analysis conducted by Doǧru [20] examined the links between EI and various outcomes. The study reported
that numerous studies established that EI positively related to RS and negatively related to stress disorders.
Nevertheless, the relationship between EI and RS might not happen directly, as having excellent people skills
alone might not solve certain types of chronic conflicts in the relationship, as mentioned by Sierra et al. [15];
some studies suggested that the usage of humor in interpersonal communication improve the quality of the
relationship between the individuals involved [19].
Furhtermore, the proper usage of humor might refer to the proper choice of the humor styles to
enhance the relationship; this ability to choose the proper styles of humor is reported to be closely tied to
their EI, which in turn affects their social engagement and their own wellbeing [19]. Humor styles refer to the
various ways in which individuals use humor in their social interactions and communication. These styles can
be categorized into different types, with each type reflecting a distinct approach to humor. There are various
humor styles such as i) Affiliative, involves using humor to enhance social bonds and build connections with
others, ii) Self-Enhancing Humor, involves finding humor in one's own experiences and situations, allowing
individuals to cope with stress and adversity by finding amusement in life's challenge, iii) Aggressive
Humor: such as sarcasm, teasing, and mockery, often aimed at belittling or embarrassing someone, iv) Self-
Defeating Humor, making oneself the target of jokes and self-deprecating humor. It is done to downplay their
achievements or make fun of their own flaws to gain social acceptance. v) Enhancing humor combines
positive elements of affiliative and self-enhancing humor. It involves using humor to uplift others' spirits,
boost morale, and create a positive environment while also finding amusement in life's ups and downs. The
aforementioned humor styles are not mutually exclusive, and individuals may use a combination of them in
different social situations. The choice of humor style can significantly impact social interactions,
relationships, and overall well-being, depending on the context and the preferences of those involved [19].
In this current study, we focus on the BHS as they foster a positive relational atmosphere and
promote a deeper connection between partners [21], and it requires adequate EI for an individual to come up
to employ BHS in their daily conversation [22]. In other words, EI intertwines with the utilization of adaptive
humor styles, such as BHS, and utilize it to improve the quality of their relationship with others, which in
turn, elevate the mental wellbeing of theirs and their partners’ [23]. The aforementioned studies suggested
that individuals with higher EI tend to be able to utilize adaptive humor styles, specifically BHS, to elevate
their RS. Based on that, we aim to investigate whether EI has a significant direct contribution on RS or is the
presence of BHS is required to maintain and improve RS. Figure 1 illustrates our hypothetical model.

Int J Public Health Sci, Vol. 13, No. 4, December 2024: 1769-1774
Int J Public Health Sci ISSN: 2252-8806  1771

Figure 1. The mediation hypothesis

2. METHOD
2.1. Participants
Our study purposively targeted individuals aged 18 to 65 involved in romantic relationships,
including engagement, marriage, or cohabitation in any form, and not diagnosed with any psychological or
mental disorder. This wide range of age group was selected as we would like to include any type and duration
of relationship; and a couple in their twenties might have different RS conditions when compared to a couple
in their forties; nevertheless, albeit the different conditions to make their relationship satisfying, the role of EI
and BHS should not significantly vary among the age group [19]. Based on G*power sample size calculator,
90 respondents were suggested. As mentioned, non-probability sampling, specifically purposive and
snowball sampling, which are suggested to efficiently study a population with specific experience [24], such
as being or have been in relationship. Following the reception of the written permission to use the measuring
instruments from their rightful owners, ethical clearance from the Ethics Review Board of the Faculty of
Psychology and Social sciences, University of Cyberjaya was obtained (#FPSS/202w3/3039). the participants
were recruited by using social media and other electronic means of communication; the link to the Google
form containing our informed content form, demographic questionnaire, and scales to measure all the
variable, was distributed to the participants through the same way. The participants were voluntarily and
consensually providing their data, as well as helped to recruit other participants within the inclusion criteria.

2.2. Measures
The research instrument was a survey questionnaire with four major sections after the demography
questionnaire:

2.2.1. Relationship assessment scale (RAS)

This scale measured the degree of relationship satisfaction. Developed by Hendrick in 1988 [25], the
RAS is a unidimensional self-report questionnaire. A five-point Likert Scale ranging from "Extremely
Unsatisfied" to "Extremely Satisfied" assessed respondents' satisfaction. Items 4 and 7 were reverse scored.
The participant's score was the accumulation of responses, with higher scores indicating greater relationship
satisfaction (Cronbach’s Alpha reliability value of 0.79).

2.2.2. Humor styles questionnaire (HSQ)

To measure beneficial humor styles, a modified version of the HSQ by Martin et al. [26] was used.
The instrument had 16 items, including 6 reverse-scored ones, assessing affiliative and self-enhancing humor
styles. Respondents used a seven-point Likert scale ranging from "Totally Disagree" to "Totally Agree."
Scores across the affiliative and self-enhancing domains were combined for the final score (Cronbach’s alpha
reliability value of 0.58).

2.2.3. Brief emotional intelligence scale (BEIS-10)

Emotional intelligence was measured using the BEIS-10, a shorter version adapted from the Schutte
Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test [27]. The scale included 10 items across five subsets and employed a
five-point Likert scale ranging from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree." The final emotional
intelligence score was calculated from individual item scores (Cronbach’s alpha reliability value of 0.88).

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The data was analyzed using the bootstrap method with 5,000 samples, at 95% confidence interval
using PROCESS MACRO model 4 in SPSS. Bootstrap method was chosen as its creator, Efron [28] has
proven in many studies that it is a powerful statistical technique that uses random sampling with replacement
to estimate a population parameter. This method is particularly useful for testing mediation hypotheses for
several reasons; firstly, the bootstrap method does not assume that the data are normally distributed [29],
making it more suitable for small sample sizes [30]. This is a significant advantage over other methods that
require the assumption of normality, such as multiple regression or Sobel test [31], [32].

Nice couple, funny couple, happy couple: emotional intelligence, humor … (Niya Treza Sunil)
1772  ISSN: 2252-8806

Secondly, bootstrapping allows for the estimation of the sampling distribution of almost any statistic
using random sampling methods [33]. This flexibility makes it an excellent tool for exploring complex
relationships, such as those found in mediation and moderation analyses [34]. To execute Bootstrap method,
we utilized PROCESS Macro 4 for SPSS by Hayes [35], with model 4 for mediation analysis. PROCESS
Macro for SPSS was chosen as it is an effective and efficient tool for analyzing mediation hypotheses [34].
The PROCESS Macro is widely used in various fields, including behavioral sciences, business research,
medicine, and public health. Furthermore, it is considered to be more efficient and effective than structural
equation modeling [36], as it makes no assumptions about the shape of the population distribution or the
sampling distribution [37]. This is particularly useful when dealing with small sample sizes or non-normal
distributions. Secondly, bootstrapping allows for the estimation of the sampling distribution of almost any
statistic using random sampling methods. This flexibility makes it an excellent tool for exploring complex
relationships, such as those found in mediation analyses.

3.1. Results
Table 1 displays the results of the direct effect of EI on RS. The analysis reveals a significant
positive relationship between EI and RS (B=0.3797, p<0.01**). Table 1 suggested that the direct effect of EI
on RS is significant (p<0.01**), indicating that emotional intelligence predicts the relationship satisfaction.
This finding is in line with the previous recent findings such as the ones by Rastogi [8], Józefacka et al. [15],
Samad and Mahmud [17], Karahan et al. [23]. These uniformed findings established the positive contribution
of EI on RS in various settings. Furthermore, Table 2 presents the results of the mediation analysis exploring
the indirect effect of EI on RS through the mediator, BHS. The analysis indicates that the indirect effect of EI
through BHS is not significant (B=0.0264, p>0.05), and the confidence interval includes both positive and
negative values. Table 2 summarizes the results for the Indirect Effect (X → M → Y): The mediation of BHS
between EI and RS is not supported, as indicated by the non-significant p-value and the confidence interval
including both positive and negative values, which does not support our previous hypothesis.

Table 1. Direct effect of EI on RS – bootstrap for Table 2. Indirect effect of EI on RS through BHS –
coefficients bootstrap for coefficients
Variable B Std. error Sig. (2-tailed) 95% CI Variable B Std. error Sig. (2-tailed) 95% CI
EI 0.3797 0.0298 <.01 [0.3212, 0.4383] BHS 0.0264 0.0155 >.05 [-0.0071, 0.0539]

3.2. Discussion
The findings of this study indicate that the usage of BHS does not mediate the relationship between
EI and RS. In other words, while both EI and BHS individually have significant associations with RS, BHS
does not act as an intermediary in enhancing the effect of EI on RS. These results suggest that the impact of EI
on RS remains direct and is not contingent on the presence or level of BHS. This implies that individuals with
higher EI are likely to experience greater relationship satisfaction regardless of their humor styles, highlighting
the unique and independent role of emotional intelligence in fostering satisfying romantic relationships.
Comparing these findings with previous studies, it is evident that emotional intelligence consistently
emerges as a significant predictor of relationship satisfaction. High EI levels are associated with better
conflict resolution, reduced aggression, and enhanced overall relationship quality, aligning with the results of
this stud. The positive contribution of EI on RS is further corroborated by studies demonstrating its
correlation with higher relationship quality and better social coordination [17]. The present study reinforces
the idea that EI plays a pivotal role in shaping relationship satisfaction.
On the other hand, beneficial humor styles have been widely recognized as factors contributing to
greater relationship satisfaction. Positive humor, affiliative humor styles, and self-enhancing humor have all
been linked to increased relationship quality and satisfaction. These studies emphasize the importance of
humor in maintaining positive relationships. However, in contrast to the existing literature, this study did not
find a mediating role for BHS in the relationship between EI and RS. It suggests that while both EI and BHS
contribute independently to RS, they do not interact in a way that amplifies their combined effect.
In summary, this study underscores the distinct and significant influences of emotional intelligence
and beneficial humor styles on relationship satisfaction. While EI remains a robust predictor of RS, BHS,
despite its well-documented positive impact on RS, does not mediate the relationship between EI and RS.
This implies that individuals with higher emotional intelligence can experience higher relationship
satisfaction regardless of their specific humor styles, highlighting the multifaceted nature of factors
influencing romantic relationship.

Int J Public Health Sci, Vol. 13, No. 4, December 2024: 1769-1774
Int J Public Health Sci ISSN: 2252-8806  1773

4. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, this study provides valuable insights into the independent roles of emotional
intelligence and beneficial humor styles in predicting relationship satisfaction. While there was no evidence
of mediation, both emotional intelligence and humor styles emerged as important factors in understanding the
dynamics of romantic relationships. One limitation of this study is that it relied on self-report measures for
emotional intelligence, beneficial humor styles, and relationship satisfaction, which can be subject to
response bias and may not fully capture participants' actual behaviors and experiences. Additionally, the
study's sample was limited to a specific age range (18-65 years), which may not fully represent the diversity
of romantic relationships across different age groups. As a closing anecdote related to the title of this paper,
we would like to conclude that nice people do not have to be funny to be satisfied with their relationship.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors express the sincere gratitude to the ethic review board of the Faculty of Psychology and
Social Sciences, University of Cyberjaya for the ethic review, clearance (# FPSS/202w3/3039), as well as to
the Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia for the support on the publication of this study.

REFERENCES
[1] P. Downward, S. Rasciute, and H. Kumar, “Mental health and satisfaction with partners: a longitudinal analysis in the UK,” BMC
Psychology, vol. 10, no. 1, 2022, doi: 10.1186/s40359-022-00723-w.
[2] C. L. Holden, P. Rollins, and M. Gonzalez, “Health-promoting behaviors, relationship satisfaction, and resilience among a
community sample,” Contemporary Family Therapy, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 146–156, Jun. 2023, doi: 10.1007/s10591-021-09624-3.
[3] K. W. Choi et al., “An exposure-wide and mendelian randomization approach to identifying modifiable factors for the prevention
of depression,” American Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 177, no. 10, pp. 944–954, 2020, doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.19111158.
[4] M. R. Goldfarb and G. Trudel, “Marital quality and depression: a review,” Marriage & Family Review, vol. 55, no. 8,
pp. 737–763, Nov. 2019, doi: 10.1080/01494929.2019.1610136.
[5] A. N. Fawwaz, K. D. Prihadi, and E. K. Purwaningtyas, “Studying online from home and social anxiety among university
students: The role of societal and interpersonal mattering,” International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education
(IJERE), vol. 11, no. 3, p. 1338, Sep. 2022, doi: 10.11591/ijere.v11i3.23464.
[6] A. Krygsman, A. H. Farrell, H. Brittain, and T. Vaillancourt, “Depression symptoms, mattering, and anti-mattering: longitudinal
associations in young adulthood,” Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, vol. 40, no. 1, pp. 77–94, Feb. 2022, doi:
10.1177/07342829211050519.
[7] K. D. Prihadi, C. Y. S. Wong, E. Y. V. Chong, and K. Y. X. Chong, “Suicidal thoughts among university students: The role of
mattering, state self-esteem and depression level,” International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE),
vol. 9, no. 3, p. 494, Sep. 2020, doi: 10.11591/ijere.v9i3.20587.
[8] S. Rastogi, “Emotional intelligence, flourishing and humor styles: a correlational study among young adults,” International
Journal of Indian Psychology, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 1400–1407, 2023, doi: 10.25215/1102.150.
[9] K. Kircaburun, Z. Demetrovics, M. D. Griffiths, O. Király, B. Kun, and Ş. B. Tosuntaş, “Trait emotional intelligence and internet
gaming disorder among gamers: the mediating role of online gaming motives and moderating role of age groups,” International
Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 1446–1457, Oct. 2020, doi: 10.1007/s11469-019-00179-x.
[10] J. Camp, S. Vitoratou, and K. A. Rimes, “LGBQ+ Self-acceptance and its relationship with minority stressors and mental health:
a systematic literature review,” Archives of Sexual Behavior, vol. 49, no. 7, pp. 2353–2373, 2020, doi: 10.1007/s10508-020-01755-2.
[11] Z. Bekirogullari, “Why Divorces could spike after COVID-19 pandemic,” in European Proceedings of Health, Oct. 2020,
pp. 25–30. doi: 10.15405/eph.20101.5.
[12] R. M. Emerson, “Social Exchange Theory,” Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 335–362, Aug. 1976, doi:
10.1146/annurev.so.02.080176.002003.
[13] H. C. Yeoh, S. L. H. Poay, K. D. Prihadi, and E. K. Purwaningtyas, “Secure relationship does not mean satisfying relationship
during the pandemic: The role of mattering and life satisfaction,” International Journal of Public Health Science (IJPHS), vol. 11,
no. 4, p. 1432, Dec. 2022, doi: 10.11591/ijphs.v11i4.21691.
[14] D. L. Carlson, A. J. Miller, and S. Rudd, “Division of housework, communication, and couples’ relationship satisfaction,” Socius,
vol. 6, 2020, doi: 10.1177/2378023120924805.
[15] N. M. Józefacka, E. Szpakiewicz, D. Lech, K. Guzowski, and G. Kania, “What matters in a relationship—age, sexual satisfaction,
relationship length, and interpersonal closeness as predictors of relationship satisfaction in young adults,” International Journal of
Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 20, no. 5, p. 4103, Feb. 2023, doi: 10.3390/ijerph20054103.
[16] Y. M. Kundi and K. Badar, “Interpersonal conflict and counterproductive work behavior: the moderating roles of emotional
intelligence and gender,” International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 514–534, May 2021, doi:
10.1108/IJCMA-10-2020-0179.
[17] M. S. Samad and N. Mahmud, “The Relationship between emotional intelligence, marital and relationship satisfaction among married couples
in Johor Bahru,” Jurnal Psikologi Malaysia, vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 207–214, 2021.
[18] S. D. Fitts, R. A. Sebby, and M. S. Zlokovich, “Humor styles as mediators of the shyness-loneliness relationship,” North
American Journal of Psychology, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 257–272, 2009.
[19] F. Jiang, S. Lu, T. Jiang, and H. Jia, “Does the relation between humor styles and subjective well-being vary across culture and
age? a meta-analysis,” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 11, 2020, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02213.
[20] C. Doǧru, “A meta-analysis of the relationships between emotional intelligence and employee outcomes,” Frontiers in
Psychology, vol. 13, 2022, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.611348.
[21] C. L. Wu, Y. F. Yen, and H. C. Chen, “How humor styles affect humor comprehension and appreciation: A typological
approach,” Current Psychology, vol. 42, no. 19, pp. 16392–16400, 2023, doi: 10.1007/s12144-021-01641-7.
[22] E. S. Eype, “Humor styles and emotional intelligence among young adults,” The International Journal of Indian Physcology, vol.
9, no. 2, pp. 1907–1912, 2023.
[23] T. F. Karahan, B. M. Yalcin, M. M. Erbas, and S. Ergun, “The relationship between the dominant humor style, emotional
intelligence, and problem-solving skills in trainee teachers in Turkey,” HUMOR, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 73–95, Feb. 2019, doi:
Nice couple, funny couple, happy couple: emotional intelligence, humor … (Niya Treza Sunil)
1774  ISSN: 2252-8806

10.1515/humor-2017-0083.
[24] R. Olson, A. Knepple Carney, and J. Hicks Patrick, “Associations between gratitude and spirituality: An experience sampling
approach,” Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 449–452, Nov. 2019, doi: 10.1037/rel0000164.
[25] S. S. Hendrick, A. Dicke, and C. Hendrick, “The relationship assessment scale,” Journal of Social and Personal Relationships,
vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 137–142, Feb. 1998, doi: 10.1177/0265407598151009.
[26] R. A. Martin., P. Puhlik-Doris, G. Larsen, J. Gray, and K. Weir, “Individual differences in uses of humor and their relation to
psychological well-being: Development of the humor styles questionnaire,” Journal of Research in Personality, vol. 37, no. 1, pp.
48–75, 2003, doi: 10.1016/S0092-6566(02)00534-2.
[27] N. S. Schutte et al., “Development and validation of a measure of emotional intelligence,” Personality and Individual Differences,
vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 167–177, 1998, doi: 10.1016/S0191-8869(98)00001-4.
[28] B. Efron, “Better Bootstrap Confidence Intervals,” Journal of the American Statistical Association, vol. 82, no. 397, pp. 171–185,
Mar. 1987, doi: 10.1080/01621459.1987.10478410.
[29] B. Efron, “The jackknife, the bootstrap and other resampling plans,” The Jackknife, the Bootstrap and Other Resampling Plans,
1982, doi: 10.1137/1.9781611970319.
[30] B. Efron and R. J. Tibshirani, “An introduction to the bootstrap,” An Introduction to the Bootstrap, 1994, doi:
10.1201/9780429246593.
[31] X. Zhao, J.G. Lynch, and Q. Chen, “Reconsidering Baron and Kenny: Myths and Truths about Mediation Analysis,” Journal of
Consumer Research, vol. 37, pp. 197–206, 2010, doi: 10.1086/651257.
[32] K. J. Preacher and G. J. Leonardelli, “Calculation for the Sobel test,” Retrieved September, vol. 15, p. 2004, 2001. [Online].
Available: https://quantpsy.org/sobel/sobel (accessed: Oct 2, 2023).
[33] B. Efron, “The Bootstrap and Modern Statistics,” Journal of the American Statistical Association, vol. 95, no. 452,
pp. 1293–1296, Dec. 2000, doi: 10.1080/01621459.2000.10474333.
[34] S. Abu-Bader and T. V. Jones, “Statistical mediation analysis using the sobel test and hayes SPSS process macro,” International
Journal of Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 42–61, 2021.
[35] A. F. Hayes, “Partial, conditional, and moderated moderated mediation: Quantification, inference, and interpretation,”
Communication Monographs, vol. 85, no. 1, pp. 4–40, 2018, doi: 10.1080/03637751.2017.1352100.
[36] A. F. Hayes, A. K. Montoya, and N. J. Rockwood, “The analysis of mechanisms and their contingencies: PROCESS versus structural
equation modeling,” Australasian Marketing Journal, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 76–81, Feb. 2017, doi: 10.1016/j.ausmj.2017.02.001.
[37] M. Sarstedt, J. F. Hair, C. Nitzl, C. M. Ringle, and M. C. Howard, “Beyond a tandem analysis of SEM and PROCESS: Use of PLS-
SEM for mediation analyses!,” International Journal of Market Research, vol. 62, no. 3, pp. 288–299, 2020, doi:
10.1177/1470785320915686.

BIOGRAPHIES OF AUTHORS

Niya Treza Sunil is a psychology graduate from the University of Cyberjaya,

Malaysia. Her recorded work centers around the topics of romantic relationships, humour,
and emotional intelligence. Her research interest lies in areas of individual and criminal
behaviour, development, and maintenance of romantic relationships and mental health
assessment and evaluation. She can be contacted at email: [email protected].

Anasuya Jegathevi Jegathevan is the Dean of the Faculty of Psychology

and Social Sciences at the University of Cyberjaya. She is a licensed counsellor, certified
Reality Therapy trainer and Thanatologist. Her works comprise of a co-edited book on
Multicultural Counselling: Application of Improved Mental Health Services as well as
therapy cards “Journey Through Life” developed to be used in sessions. Her research areas
are intercultural interaction, spiritual counselling, death and grief, adolescence and ethical
issues in mental health. She can be contacted at email: [email protected].

Kususanto Ditto Prihadi is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of

Psychology and Social Sciences, University of Cyberjaya, Malaysia. Most of his works
were dedicated to the psychology of mattering, and interpersonal relationship. He is
currently active in studying the implication of new media literacy and artificial intelligence
in social, educational, and organizational psychology. He can be reached at email:
[email protected].

Int J Public Health Sci, Vol. 13, No. 4, December 2024: 1769-1774