A CASE STUDY ON UNDERGRADUATES MENTAL HEALTH AT A PRIVATE HIGHER
LEARNING INSTITUTION IN KUALA LUMPUR
Mas Anom Abdul Rashid
School of Business and Accounting
Kolej Universiti Poly-Tech MARA
(masanom@gapps.kptm.edu.my)
Tel no: 03-92069700 Fax no: 03-92815764
Mohd Noor Azman Othman
School of Computing and Technological Sciences
Kolej Universiti Poly-Tech MARA
(n.azman@gapps.kptm.edu.my)
Tel no: 03-92069700 Fax no: 03-92815764
Abdul Razak Ibrahim
School of Business and Accounting
Kolej Universiti Poly-Tech MARA
(razak@gapps.kptm.edu.my)
Tel no: 03-92069700 Fax no: 03-92815764
The Malaysian Ministry of Health has aired its concern towards the state of Malaysian students’
mental health in the late 2016. Statistics revealed a worsening state of mental health problems
among Malaysian students, which shows that there is an increase cases of mental health from
2011 to 2016. Experts cite anxiety and depression as the main causes of mental health problems
among students although not ruling out the influence of drugs as a factor. Hence, this study is
aimed to seek some answers to the state of the students overall mental health, what are the most
influential factor that affects their mental health and how they manage these issues. A total of
350 students participated in this study and findings revealed that 50% of the students suffered
some kind of depressions triggered by various factors.
Keywords: Malaysia, students’ mental health, depression, counselling, support
Introduction
”Mental health is the condition that influences our mind in our daily activities. It determines how
we handle stress, how we relate to others and how do we make our choices (mentalhealth.gov,
2017). Therefore, if the wellness of the mental is maintained, theoretically one should be living a
stress free life. Mental condition transcends throughout one’s lifespan as the brain which is the
control centre for all the activities dictates how one acts and reacts to specific situation and
condition.
Mental health is influenced by factors such as biological (genes and brain chemistry), life
experiences and family history. Going through life experiences, one will definitely be exposed to
situations and conditions that force the mind to respond appropriately to the ideal outcome
required. If the mental state is not in a healthy condition, this may lead to an unfavorable outcome
as the production of the thinking process. Such situation will lead to unruly behaviors,
miscalculation of steps to be taken or a mismatch between the action and reaction. This often
results to dire consequences of one’s life, the society or the nation eventually.
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Mental health needs to be kept checked at all times to make sure that everyone in the community
is able to contribute positively to the society. Perhaps the most critical stage of mental health that
needs to be checked is the adolescent stage (Winters and Arria, 2011). This is a stage where
the brain is still in the process of maturing. The maturing brain may help explain why adolescence
sometimes make decision that are risky and may lead to safety or health concern including unique
vulnerability to negative outcome (Winters and Arria, 2011). This is the miscalculated steps
mentioned in the previous paragraph.
When discussing adolescence the focus will definitely be on the teenagers. As the brain maturing,
rapid changes takes place both physically and cognitively where this leaves the teenagers facing
countless problems and challenges that influence their emotions. Teenagers’ life at the
adolescent stage is normally related to their college life. College life is regarded as the most
important stage of teenagers’ life because college is where they forge their future. At this period
everything needs to be properly thought of in deciding the right direction to be taken by them.
Hence the mental health needs to be at the healthiest level possible.
As the future torch bearers teenagers need to make the correct and sound decision. This places
the importance of checking their mental health even more crucial.
Problem Statement
College life is the most pressing stage in the teenagers’ lives that can sometimes impose major
challenges to study, play, socialize and live at the same time. Failure to manage these challenges
effectively may lead to poor mental health in the teenagers and negative repercussions. Among
them teenagers can be harried and overly anxious for their future. Some extreme cases may
lead to depression, extreme anxiety and even suicide.
Pro-active assessments on the teenagers’ mental health need to be carried out periodically in
order to overcome such possible incidences. This is important to determine the product of the
educational system may not only excel academically but also possess a healthy mental state
when living the college to face their post-education lives. For the purpose of this study poor mental
health is referred to the stress level experienced by the respondents.
Hypotheses
This study was carried out to support these hypotheses :
Ho1
Ho2
Ho3
Ho4
Ho5
Ho6
Ho7
The students are not suffering from any kind of mental distress.
Students do not seek support/help from the college counsellor/professionals.
There is no significant difference between male and female students’ level of stress.
There is no significant difference among students’ level of stress from different programs.
There is no significant difference among students’ seeking help and support.
There is no significant difference in the mental stress level among students’ family financial
background.
There is no significant difference in the students’ level of mental stress in semesters they
are in.
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Literature Review
In September 2016, the national newspaper reported that the Malaysian Ministry of Health is
concerned about the state of Malaysian students mental health as statistics revealed a worsening
state of mental health problems among Malaysian students. The report showed that there is an
increase of one in 10 individuals in 2011 to one in five in 2016. Experts cite anxiety and
depression as the main causes of mental health problems among students although not ruling
out the influence of drugs as a factor (The NST, 2016).
According to Dr Mohd Suhaimi Mohamed, an expert of mental health at the University of Malaya,
a prolonged state of mental health problems could make students become withdrawn, suffer from
schizophrenia and develop the inclination to commit suicide. The tendency to take one’s own life
could become more sever if the mental health problems were not addressed within a period of
two years which was often neglected. Factors which triggered anxiety, emotional disorders such
as bulimia, developmental disorders like hyperactivity, behavioral disorders and severe stress
due to family problems, anxiety could be attributed to pressure of examinations that might instill
fear in students. Low self-confidence as a result could cause a student to be in a state of worry
and stress, coupled with the pressure from parents and teachers who drive them to be
competitive. Furthermore fear of embarrassment over matters related to studies could also push
students towards extreme consternation or anxiety.
In a study conducted by Mas Anom, Mohd Noor Azman and Abdul Razak (2017) among
undergraduate students at a private higher learning institution in Kuala Lumpur, they found that
students stress are due to basically academic related matters and financial requirement. Studies
concerning mental health among college students have been an area that received quite an
interest among phycology researchers as the number of fatal cases involving college students
especially in the US has created the urge to initiate a proactive measure to such problem. There
are increasing concerns globally about the mental health of students (Kadison, & Digeronimo,
2004) as mental health problems are highly prevalent among college students, according to
several data sources.
In the 2008 National College Health Assessment sponsored by the American College Health
Association (ACHA-NCHA), more than one in three undergraduates reported “feeling so
depressed it was difficult to function” at least once in the previous year, and nearly one in 10
reported “seriously considering attempting suicide” in the previous year. This puts the needs to
investigate this phenomenon further has to be given serious concern ( ACHA-NCHA, 2008).
If remains unattended, poor mental health will lead to even serious consequences. Stress among
students if did not address at the early stage will leads to depression as in a survey data from
random samples at 26 colleges and universities in 2007 and 2009 (the Healthy Minds Study)
found that 17% of the students had positive screens for depression including 9% for major
depression, and 10% of the students had a positive screen for an anxiety disorder (panic or
generalized anxiety disorder) (Blanco et al, 2008). Preventive actions need to be taken by
determining the mental health risk factors among students.
One of the negative repercussions is anxiety. In a survey conducted by American Psychological
Association 95% of college counseling center directors surveyed said the number of students with
significant psychological problems is a growing concern in their center or on campus. 70% of
directors believe that the number of students with severe psychological problems on their campus
has increased in the past year (APA, 2013). The survey also found that anxiety is the top
presenting concern among college students (41.6%), followed by depression (36.4%) and
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relationship problems (35.8%). Academic, environmental, social and health problems all play an
important role in the development of stress. Academic factors are the most important stressors
(Waghachavare, Dhumale, Kadam, and Gore, 2013). There is a need for specific and targeted
measures to decrease substantially the burden of stress on the students before it gets out of
control.
Depression does not have a single cause. Several factors can lead to depression. Some people
carry genes that increase their risk of depression. But not all people with depression have these
genes, and not all people with these genes have depression. Apart from possible genetically
induced depression can also be caused by stress based on environmental issues such as
surroundings and life experiences. Stresses in college life may result from living away from family
for the first time, missing family or friends, feeling alone or isolated, experiencing conflict in
relationships, facing new and sometimes difficult school work or worrying about finances. These
issues should be addressed and managed effectively in fencing away depression among the
students.
Perhaps the most common solution to psychological problems is to provide counseling sessions
for the victims. Recognizing the seriousness of the problem, many colleges have taken the
proactive measures by improving the counseling department at their respective colleges.
Counseling centers are seen to implement a variety of innovative strategies to meet the mental
health needs of students and the demand for services (Kitzrow, 2003). These strategies may
include offering more immediate and accessible appointments, especially for students in crisis,
by providing phone consultations and evening and drop-in appointments. Peer counselors and
graduate interns can also be an important resource that allow counseling centers to serve more
students. Group therapy and self-help programs (e.g., books, pamphlets, videos, Internet
resources about mental health issues) are alternatives to individual counseling that can be
effective for many students.
Methodology
A survey was conducted on 350 respondents at the Kolej Universiti Poly-Tech MARA (KUPTM),
a subsidiary of MARA (Council of the Indegineous People) Malaysia.
The respondents were students from various programs at the university college.
questionnaires were distributed randomly to the students by the college counsellors.
The
The questionnaire consisted of an instrument adopted from a study conducted in Singapore in
2016. It consisted of five (5) sections which were the demographic, self-diagnose mental health,
symptoms of mental distress, type of stressors, support system (who do students confide with
when they are distressed) and professional help. There were a total of 54 items altogether in the
questionnaire.
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Results
Demographic factors
Table 1: Demographic factor
No.
1.
Factors
Freq
%
147
193
43.2
56.8
Age Group
18 – 20 years old
21 – 22 years old
23 - 25 years old
26 and above
210
68
54
8
61.8
20.0
15.9
2.4
Place of Birth
Kelantan
Terengganu
Pahang
Johor
Melaka
Negeri Sembilan
Selangor
Perak
Pulau Pinang
Kedah
Perlis
Sabah
Sarawak
Kuala Lumpur
Others (overseas) : USA, UK
21
21
23
35
9
19
117
15
11
15
3
6
9
31
5
6.2
6.2
6.8
10.3
2.6
5.6
34.4
4.4
3.2
4.4
9.0
1.8
2.6
9.1
1.5
62
258
10
10
18.2
75.9
10
10
Family Income:
Below RM1,000
RM1,001 – RM3,000
RM3,001 – RM6,000
RM6,001 – RM9,000
RM9,001 – RM12,000
RM12,001 and above
38
117
99
49
17
17
12.1
34.4
29.1
14.4
5.0
5.0
Program:
AA101
AA102
AA201
AA211
AB101
AB201
CC101
70
3
25
1
14
44
84
20.6
0.9
7.4
0.3
4.1
12.9
24.7
Gender
Male
Female
2.
3.
4.
School:
Boarding
Daily
Religious Boarding
Religious Daily
5.
6.
5
CC201
BK101
BK201
BE101
BE201
7.
Semester:
Semester 1
Semester 2
Semester 3
Semester 4
Semester 5
TOTAL
16
47
23
4
5
4.7
13.8
6.8
1.2
1.5
44
196
31
39
30
12.9
57.6
9.1
11.5
8.8
340
100.0
Based on Table 1, it was found that majority of the respondents were female and most of them
were between the ages of 18 to 20 years old. This is very crucial to the study as this age period
shows that they just left high school and would definitely face problem in adapting themselves to
college life.
In terms of place of birth and type of school attended, the majority of the respondents were born
in Selangor and came from daily schools. This may influence the study outcome as they may
have issues in adapting to living with others at the hostels and away from home.
The majority of the respondents also came from middle class income socioeconomic background
which may influence the financial element in the study. The area of study showed that
respondents studied various academic programs which consist of business management,
computer science and social sciences. Even though the relation between academic programs
studied and stress level was not the main focus in this study an analysis was also carried out to
determine if there is a possibility it could be one of the stressors among college students.
Meanwhile the semester that the respondents were at during the study did correspond to the
majority of the respondents’ age range as stated earlier.
Table 2:
No.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Reliability Test
VARIABLES
CRONBACH ALPHA
VALUE
.792
.841
.794
.844
.907
Self-diagnoised mental health
Symptoms of mental distress
Stressor
Seek help
Professional support/advice
NO. OF ITEMS
7
13
8
7
6
Table 2 shows the reliability test results conducted on the constructs of the questionnaire. The
cronbach alpha values for the variables were between the range of moderate and highly reliable,
which was 0.700 – 0.900. This suggests that the instrument used was reliable in measuring all
the variables involved in the framework.
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Table 3: Stress level one-sample t Test
One-Sample Test
Test Value = 2.5
95% Confidence Interval of the
Difference
t
stress level
df
27.225
Sig. (2-tailed)
338
Mean Difference
.000
Lower
3.046
Upper
2.83
3.27
Table 5 indicated that there is a significant level of mental health problem among the students at the
college (p < .05) thus rejecting Ho1.
Table 3 indicated that the students are suffering from mental stress as the t-test indicated a
significant p = .000 thus rejecting the Ho1.
Table 4 One-sampel t Test – seeking help/support/advice from counsellors/professionals
One-Sample Test
Test Value = 2.5
95% Confidence Interval of the
Difference
t
Seek support
df
-8.629
Sig. (2-tailed)
337
Mean Difference
.000
Lower
-.41026
Upper
-.5038
-.3167
Findings in Table 4 indicated that students do seek help/support/advice from the
counsellors/professionals to solve their problems. Thus, Ho2 is rejected.
Table 4 Independent t-test – different in gender seeking support/help from counsellors/
professionals.
Independent Samples Test
Levene's Test
for Equality of
Variances
t-test for Equality of Means
F
Equal variances
assumed
1.881
Sig.
t
.171
7
2.713
df
336
Std.
95% Confidence
Mean
Error
Interval of the
Sig. (2-
Differenc
Differe
Difference
tailed)
e
nce
.007
Lower
.25800 .09509 .07095
Upper
.44505
Seek
Equal variances not
help/advice/supp assumed
ort
2.679 295.969
.008
.25800 .09632 .06844
.44757
Table 4 indicated that there is no significant difference between gender who seeks help/advice/
support from the college counsellors/professionals (.007). Thus, rejecting Ho2.
Table 5 t-test
Independent Samples Test
Levene's Test
for Equality of
Variances
t-test for Equality of Means
F
self_diagnose Equal variances
d MHP
assumed
Equal variances
not assumed
2.820
Sig.
Sig. (2tailed)
Mean
Difference
326
.003
.23312
.07868 .07833 .38791
2.933 293.103
.004
.23312
.07947 .07672 .38952
t
df
.094 2.963
Std. Error
Difference
95%
Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Lower Upper
Table 5 shows that there is a significant difference in the level of mental health among the male
and female undergraduates at .003, therefore Ho3 has to be rejected.
Table 6 One-way ANOVA
ANOVA
self_diagnosed MHP
Sum of Squares
Between Groups
df
Mean Square
6.828
12
.569
Within Groups
127.478
310
.411
Total
134.306
322
F
Sig.
1.384
.172
Table 6 showed that there is no significant difference in the students’ level of stress taking
different programs (.172). Thus, H04 is accepted.
Table 7 One-sampe t Test
One-Sample Test
Test Value = 2.5
95% Confidence Interval of the
Difference
t
self_diagnosed MHP
-8.629
df
Sig. (2-tailed)
337
.000
Mean Difference
-.41026
Lower
Upper
-.5038
Table 7 indicated that there is a significant differenct in the students’ experiencing mental health
problem seeking advice and support from the counsellor (.000) thus rejecting Ho5.
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-.3167
Table 8 One-way ANOVA – family financial background
ANOVA
stress level
Between Groups
Within Groups
Total
Sum of Squares
38.385
1395.656
df
6
332
1434.041
Mean Square
6.398
4.204
F
1.522
Sig.
.170
338
Table 8 indicated that there is no significant difference in students’ level of stress in their family
financial background, thus rejectingHo6.
Table 9 One-way ANOVA – semester
ANOVA
stress level
Sum of Squares
Between Groups
df
Mean Square
17.720
5
3.544
Within Groups
1416.321
333
4.253
Total
1434.041
338
F
Sig.
.833
.527
The findings in Table 9 indicated that there is no significant difference (.527) in the level of
stress among the students’ in different semester, thus accepting Ho7.
Discussions
This study was carried out to investigate the mental health condition of students form a private
university. As stressed earlier, mental health has become an issue that needs to be given extra
attention by all the parties involved in the education industry. This is even more pressing as these
youngsters are the ones who will decide the country’s future direction. The study was carried out
with the main aim to gauge the overall mental health of the undergraduate students, whether they
seek help/support from the college counsellor or professionals and whether there is a significant
difference in gender, programs, semesters they are in and family financial background.
From the findings it was evident that the students are suffering from some kind of mental stress.
These stress could be due to the stress from anxiety and depression coming from the academic
matters and financial anxiety. The financial anxiety may be due to the reason that since they are
studying in a private college therefore, without financial aid they have to work part-time to earn
income to support their studies.
In relations to the the independent t-test carried out, the result showed that there is a low
significant difference between gender (.309) thus, the null hypothesis is rejected. Furthermore,
the regression analysis, the findings showed that respondents are more concerned and distressed
with their assignments’ deadlines and academic performance. This result indicated that
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respondents at this college were concern and serious about their ability to keep up with the
deadlines and academic performances.
Conclusion
Based on the findings it could be concluded that the students at this private university still are
able to life a happy college life even though they are moderately stress. The main stressor apart
from the academic related was the financial requirement which put the students in a predicament
to seek part time jobs to finance their study. Even though the prefer to seek non- professional
such as friends or family members help in managing the stress level they are still able to keep it
manageable as they are still with their college life.
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Kadison, R., & Digeronimo, T. F. (2004). College of the overwhelmed: The campus mental
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