Author

  • Bushra Abdul Halim

    • College of Computing, Informatics and Mathematics, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Melaka Branch, Alor Gajah Campus, Melaka, Malaysia
    • Malaysia

  • Siti Fairus Fuzi

    • College of Computing, Informatics and Mathematics, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Melaka Branch, Alor Gajah Campus, Melaka, Malaysia
    • Malaysia

  • Siti Ramizah Jama

    • College of Computing, Informatics and Mathematics, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Melaka Branch, Alor Gajah Campus, Melaka, Malaysia
    • Malaysia

  • Siti Nursyahira Zainudin

    • College of Computing, Informatics and Mathematics, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Melaka Branch, Alor Gajah Campus, Melaka, Malaysia
    • Malaysia

  • Nordianah Jusoh Hussain

    • College of Computing, Informatics and Mathematics, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Melaka Branch, Alor Gajah Campus, Melaka, Malaysia
    • Malaysia

  • Nurul Emyza Zahidi

    • College of Computing, Informatics and Mathematics, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Melaka Branch, Alor Gajah Campus, Melaka, Malaysia
    • Malaysia

  • Wan Hartini Wan Hassan

    • College of Computing, Informatics and Mathematics, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Melaka Branch, Alor Gajah Campus, Melaka, Malaysia
    • Malaysia

Abstract

Malaysia is one of the countries transitioning from the pandemic phase to an endemic phase of Covid19. The spread of Covid-19 had a significant impact on university students, affecting their mental health just as it did for many others. This study investigates depression, anxiety, and stress symptom levels among Malaysian university students and the coping strategies used to prevent or reduce these psychological distress symptoms. A web-based questionnaire was developed using Google Forms to collect data from students who were selected non-randomly from three public universities and one from a private university in Malaysia. Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Perceived Stress Scales-10 (PSS-10) were used for measuring depression, anxiety, and stress respectively. The coping strategies were measured using five strategies: seeking social support for emotional reasons, seeking social support for instrumental reasons, acceptance, mental disengagement, and humanitarian. The study findings indicated that 60.7% had depression symptoms, 30.4% had anxiety symptoms, and 86.3% had stress symptoms at moderate-to-severe levels. Acceptance was the most preferred coping strategy among the students while seeking social support for instrumental reasons was the least preferred coping strategy. Students with severe depression levels used mental disengagement coping strategies more than those with mild symptoms. Mental disengagement coping strategy was associated with severe anxiety symptoms compared to mild and minimal symptoms. Seeking social support for emotional reasons was also associated with moderate anxiety symptoms compared to mild anxiety symptoms.

Keywords

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How to Cite

Abdul Halim, B., Fuzi, S. F., Jama, S. R., Zainudin, S. N., Jusoh Hussain, N., Zahidi, N. E., & Wan Hassan, W. H. (2024). Depression, Anxiety, Stress and Its Association with Coping Strategies among Malaysian University Students. Information Management and Business Review, 16(4(S)I), 216-226. https://doi.org/10.22610/imbr.v16i4(S)I.4308

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Copyright (c) 2024 Bushra Abdul Halim, Siti Fairus Fuzi, Siti Ramizah Jama, Siti Nursyahira Zainudin, Nordianah Jusoh Hussain, Nurul Emyza Zahidi, Wan Hartini Wan Hassan (Author)

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Vol. 16 No. 4(S)I (2024) Digital Payments, Game-Based Learning & Knowledge Behaviour View issue contents

Published

2024-11-27

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