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The aim of this study is to explore the prototype for expressions of marital love among urban Malays. This study applies the process for developing prototypes of love which was adapted by Fehr (1988). Questionnaire consisting of questions relating to personal background, relationship background and list of expressions of marital love were presented to 600 working married urban Malays. Data were analyzed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and found that the list for prototype expressions of marital love were fit using the three component definition as suggested by Sternberg (1986), specifically, intimacy to intimate-sharing expressions, commitment to commitment-faith expressions and passion to romantic-physical expressions. Results showed that expressions for marital love which involve intimate-sharing expressions (e.g. listening to spouse's emotional outpourings, encouraging spouse, solving problems with spouse) were most desirable compared to romantic-physical expressions which were less desirable (e.g. holding spouse's waist, giving spouse a massage, caressing spouse). Findings suggest future studies on love within marriage should consider cultural aspects and application of implicit theory as suggested by Fehr (1988).

Children are an integral asset for future development of a nation. In lieu with this notion, countries pay much attention to their development and well being. In recent times, child abuse has been rampant. This issue is constantly making headlines in national newspapers in Malaysia. The alarming effect of this phenomenon is its inevitable implication on the family institution and the nation’s aspiration to create a better tomorrow. This current study is an attempt to discover the contributory factors of physical child abuse in Malaysia. The objective of this study was to identify the background and demography of abuser and to identify the external factors that cause a parent to abuse their child. This case study was conducted in Selangor amongst eight Malay respondents using an in-depth interview session. This study found that external factors as the major contributory factor to physical child abuse. The factors are financial constraints, family crisis, character and disobedience of the children or so called ‘deviant children’, surroundings of the home, conflict with neighbours or lack of social support, parent’s mental illness and and influence of alcohol. Hence these factors are articulated and interpreted by the researcher. Implications of this research, profession who work with children such as social worker, psycologist and counselor should look into the external factors that contribute to the physical child abuse in designing intervention, cure and effective strategies to overcome this problem. In future, protecting children needs collective effort from policy maker, authority body, non-government organization and member of society

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