Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Evidence from Malaysia
The interplay of physical, social, and economic factors during the pandemic adversely affected the mental health of healthy people and exacerbated pre-existing mental disorders. This study aimed to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of the general population in Malays...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
2023
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/110485/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/110485/1/110485.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848865528566775808 |
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| author | Tan, Eugenie Sin Sing Chin, Shaun Ashley Fung Xian Sathapan, Manimeyapan S. Palaniappan Dewi, Astrid Disimond Amini, Farahnaz Ahmad Bustami, Normina Tan, Pui Yee Ho, Yu Bin Tan, Chung Keat |
| author_facet | Tan, Eugenie Sin Sing Chin, Shaun Ashley Fung Xian Sathapan, Manimeyapan S. Palaniappan Dewi, Astrid Disimond Amini, Farahnaz Ahmad Bustami, Normina Tan, Pui Yee Ho, Yu Bin Tan, Chung Keat |
| author_sort | Tan, Eugenie Sin Sing |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The interplay of physical, social, and economic factors during the pandemic adversely affected the mental health of healthy people and exacerbated pre-existing mental disorders. This study aimed to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of the general population in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study involving 1246 participants was conducted. A validated questionnaire consisting of the level of knowledge and practice of precautionary behaviors, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life—Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF) was used as an instrument to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results revealed that most participants possessed a high level of knowledge about COVID-19 and practiced wearing face masks daily as a precautionary measure. The average DASS scores were beyond the mild to moderate cut-off point for all three domains. The present study found that prolonged lockdowns had significantly impacted (p < 0.05), the mental health of the general population in Malaysia, reducing quality of life during the pandemic. Employment status, financial instability, and low annual incomes appeared to be risk factors (p < 0.05) contributing to mental distress, while older age played a protective role (p < 0.05). This is the first large-scale study in Malaysia to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the general population. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T14:06:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-110485 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T14:06:09Z |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-1104852025-07-22T02:40:23Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/110485/ Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Evidence from Malaysia Tan, Eugenie Sin Sing Chin, Shaun Ashley Fung Xian Sathapan, Manimeyapan S. Palaniappan Dewi, Astrid Disimond Amini, Farahnaz Ahmad Bustami, Normina Tan, Pui Yee Ho, Yu Bin Tan, Chung Keat The interplay of physical, social, and economic factors during the pandemic adversely affected the mental health of healthy people and exacerbated pre-existing mental disorders. This study aimed to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of the general population in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study involving 1246 participants was conducted. A validated questionnaire consisting of the level of knowledge and practice of precautionary behaviors, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life—Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF) was used as an instrument to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results revealed that most participants possessed a high level of knowledge about COVID-19 and practiced wearing face masks daily as a precautionary measure. The average DASS scores were beyond the mild to moderate cut-off point for all three domains. The present study found that prolonged lockdowns had significantly impacted (p < 0.05), the mental health of the general population in Malaysia, reducing quality of life during the pandemic. Employment status, financial instability, and low annual incomes appeared to be risk factors (p < 0.05) contributing to mental distress, while older age played a protective role (p < 0.05). This is the first large-scale study in Malaysia to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the general population. Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2023 Article PeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/110485/1/110485.pdf Tan, Eugenie Sin Sing and Chin, Shaun Ashley Fung Xian and Sathapan, Manimeyapan S. Palaniappan and Dewi, Astrid Disimond and Amini, Farahnaz and Ahmad Bustami, Normina and Tan, Pui Yee and Ho, Yu Bin and Tan, Chung Keat (2023) Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Evidence from Malaysia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20 (5). art. no. 4046. pp. 1-14. ISSN 1660-4601 https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/5/4046 10.3390/ijerph20054046 |
| spellingShingle | Tan, Eugenie Sin Sing Chin, Shaun Ashley Fung Xian Sathapan, Manimeyapan S. Palaniappan Dewi, Astrid Disimond Amini, Farahnaz Ahmad Bustami, Normina Tan, Pui Yee Ho, Yu Bin Tan, Chung Keat Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Evidence from Malaysia |
| title | Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Evidence from Malaysia |
| title_full | Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Evidence from Malaysia |
| title_fullStr | Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Evidence from Malaysia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Evidence from Malaysia |
| title_short | Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Evidence from Malaysia |
| title_sort | mental health and the covid-19 pandemic: observational evidence from malaysia |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/110485/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/110485/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/110485/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/110485/1/110485.pdf |