Levels of Stress, Anxiety, Depression and Thoughts of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Behavior among University Students

Abstract

Students are often exposed to various types of stress that lead to the occurrence of extreme anxiety leading to the occurrence of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). This study aimed to examine the relationship between stress levels, anxiety levels and self-injurious behaviours among students. This quantitative study uses a survey approach on a total of 100 university students selected as respondents using a simple sampling technique. For data collection using a questionnaire that contains two instruments, namely the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the NSSI Thinking Scale. The results of the study found that the students’ anxiety level was higher than the students' stress level and depression level. While the tendency to NSSI shows that the majority of students have never think about the NSSI behaviour. Significant difference can be seen between the level of anxiety and the level of depression between the genders of students. However, there is a significant differences between gender and NSSI thinking. It is hoped that this study can be used as a guide to students and university management in developing mental health policies and programs that can increase awareness of mental health, especially on stress, anxiety, depression and self-injurious behaviour among students in order to live a better campus life.