The prevalence and underlying factors of mental health disorders in Malaysian youth

Abstract

This study aims to identify the current state of mental health among youth aged between 15 and 30 years old in Malaysia, using nationally representative data for the year 2020. This data consists of 21,126 respondents from all states in Malaysia. Apart from using inferential analysis to understand the distribution, we used the logit model to identify the factors that affect the likelihood of having three kinds of mental health symptoms, namely depression, stress, and anxiety. Among young people who reported having mental health symptoms, 17 percent have one, 20 percent have two, and 20 percent have all three mental health symptoms. These symptoms and suicide ideation show a significantly different distribution by gender, with females showing a higher incidence than males. Age, gender, ethnicity, income, marital status, social interaction, and physical illness significantly affect the likelihood of exhibiting mental health problems. These findings may be helpful for policymakers and respective agencies in designing appropriate and effective policy measures to address the issue of mental health among youth, particularly in Malaysia.