Mental Health in Malaysia: A Study of Gender Differences

Abstract

Depression, anxiety, and stress are illnesses that are categorized under mental health conditions. It was anticipated that after heart disease, mental health situations are likely to be the second major health badly-behaved disturbing Malaysians by the year 2020. This situation is very disturbing among youth including university students who suffer from mental health illness which may lead to an increase in the risk of suicide, and other social problems specifically throughout the dated of the COVID-19 pandemic. It needs anticipation approaches to implement a complete social and public health method. Therefore, this study will examine the level of depression, anxiety, and stress among male and female university students in Malaysia throughout the pandemic. The study implemented the DASS-21 inventory to quantify the mental health of the male and female students throughout the pandemic. Data collected between January to May 2021 with a total of 355 respondents came from 196 female students (55.2%) and 159 male students (44.8%). The study employs the simple random sampling method consisting of 31 closed-ended questions and the Likert scale. Overall findings showed that there have been significant differences in percentage between male students and female students in terms of depression, anxiety, and stress levels. The results displayed that the depression, anxiety, and stress levels scored by the female students were higher than those of the male students. The study recommended expanding further research to socio-economic status based on the geography of the university students during and post-pandemic to determine the level of mental health among male and female university students.