Psychological Well-Being among University Students in Malaysia

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume II, Issue XII, December 2018 | ISSN 2454–6186

Psychological Well-Being among University Students in Malaysia

M. N. Shahira ¹, H. Hanisshya¹, Z.M. Lukman², R. Normala³, C. Azlini⁴, M.Y. Kamal⁵

^1,2,3,4,5Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia

Abstract—¬Unexceptionally for university students, the occurrences of psychological distress are believed to be higher for them to encounter. There has been an increaseamong theinternationalpublic concerning the mental health and the impact of unidentified and untreated mental illness among university students.Theaim of this study is to identify the level of psychological well-being of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) students.Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) were used for data collection together with the socio-demographic questionnaire. Data were collected from 443 UniSZA students. This study used descriptive analysis to obtain accurate results. The findings of this study showed that depression, anxiety, and stress found among UniSZA students were 42.2%, 73.7%, and 34.8% respectively. Findings revealed that students who faced psychological distress level possessed relatively hightendency for depression, stress, and anxiety.Psychological distress poses negative impacts on the physical, mental and academic. What is more worrying is that students who faced this kind of problem do not seek help or treatment because of the public stigma against mental illness.

Keywords—Psychological well-being, university students, depression, anxiety, stress

I. INTRODUCTION

In recent years, mental health studies particularly conducted among university students have successfully grabbed the attention of many due to the greatest new concern society has to faced which is psychological distress [1].The transition from high school to higher education resulted in changes to the academic, social and emotional needs which also lead to psychological adjustment [2]. Higher education levels bring higher academic stress, reduce the level of academic support, also caused social segregation during the alteration period and potentially involved in long-term financial debt [3]. Continuous pressure could bring upon the downfall of academic performance of university students [4]. In addition, they also need to be separated from family and friends [5].

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