Investigating Mental Health Among Malaysian University Students During Covid-19 Pandemic

Nor Azlili Hassan; Hasmiza Abdul Majeed; Jaslina Mohd Tajuddin; Nor Hafizah Abdullah; Rahilah Ahmad

doi:10.47405/mjssh.v7i1.1224

Nor Azlili Hassan Faculty of Creative Industries, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Malaysia
Hasmiza Abdul Majeed Faculty of Sports Science and Recreation, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia
Jaslina Mohd Tajuddin Faculty of Business, Accountancy, Communication and Hospitality Management, SEGi University, Malaysia
Nor Hafizah Abdullah Faculty of Languages and Communication, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UNISZA), Malaysia
Rahilah Ahmad School of Marketing and Management, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Malaysia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47405/mjssh.v7i1.1224

Keywords: Mental health, depression, anxiety, stress, university students

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown have led to an increasing number of mental health issues in Malaysia. The demands of living during the pandemic have caused a rising number of university students to be diagnosed with depression, anxiety, stress and other mental health problems. A survey done by National Health and Morbidity 2015 found that the prevalence of mental health problems among adults in Malaysia has increased from 10.7% in 1996, to 11.2% in 2006, to 29.2% in 2015. Moreover, one in 10 individuals in 2011 to one in five in 2016 cases reported are among Malaysian students. Thus, the study explores the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms among university students in Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study adopted the DASS-21 inventory to measure the mental health of the students during the pandemic COVID-19 that assesses the depression, anxiety and stress symptoms. Data obtained from the 355 Malaysian university students showed that most of the respondents were sometimes feeling depressed by having negative feelings (44.2%)”, and unable to become enthusiastic (44.5%)”, feeling anxious where they were close to panic (33.8%)” and dryness of their mouth (31.5%)”, and feeling stressed where they found themselves getting agitated (40.3%)” and difficult to relax (40.8%)”. The findings may suggest that further research is proposed for the inclusion of successful coping strategies used by the students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research should also develop interventions and preventive strategies to address the mental health of university students.

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