Loneliness, coping strategies and perceived social support among students of public universities in Malaysia during the COVID-19 MCO
The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic had prompted many governments to enforce lockdown to prevent the virus from spreading. In Malaysia, a series of Movement Control Orders (MCO) were introduced starting March 18, 2020. As a result, many people’s lives were affected, including university students. Th...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
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Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
2021
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/94045/ |
| _version_ | 1848861903418294272 |
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| author | Hussin, Siti Haslina Awang Daud, Awang Ideris Taibi, Malia Hussin, Siti Rahayu |
| author_facet | Hussin, Siti Haslina Awang Daud, Awang Ideris Taibi, Malia Hussin, Siti Rahayu |
| author_sort | Hussin, Siti Haslina |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic had prompted many governments to enforce lockdown to prevent the virus from spreading. In Malaysia, a series of Movement Control Orders (MCO) were introduced starting March 18, 2020. As a result, many people’s lives were affected, including university students. These affected students had to stay in their campus residential facilities, isolated from family, relatives and friends, which could lead to the feeling of loneliness. This study aims to explore the phenomenon among students stranded on campus during MCO periods. Approximately 243 students from several public universities were surveyed using Google form. Results from the 210 usable responses showed that most of these students experienced moderate loneliness and often used coping approaches like acceptance, positive interpretation, active coping, and active solitude. Friends seemed to be a more immediate source to seek for support in times of isolation. Correlation results suggested that social support availability is negatively associated with student loneliness experience, and positively related with student coping strategies. Specifically, the availability of support from friends and significant others may minimize loneliness experience. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T13:08:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-94045 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T13:08:31Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-940452023-10-26T00:57:32Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/94045/ Loneliness, coping strategies and perceived social support among students of public universities in Malaysia during the COVID-19 MCO Hussin, Siti Haslina Awang Daud, Awang Ideris Taibi, Malia Hussin, Siti Rahayu The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic had prompted many governments to enforce lockdown to prevent the virus from spreading. In Malaysia, a series of Movement Control Orders (MCO) were introduced starting March 18, 2020. As a result, many people’s lives were affected, including university students. These affected students had to stay in their campus residential facilities, isolated from family, relatives and friends, which could lead to the feeling of loneliness. This study aims to explore the phenomenon among students stranded on campus during MCO periods. Approximately 243 students from several public universities were surveyed using Google form. Results from the 210 usable responses showed that most of these students experienced moderate loneliness and often used coping approaches like acceptance, positive interpretation, active coping, and active solitude. Friends seemed to be a more immediate source to seek for support in times of isolation. Correlation results suggested that social support availability is negatively associated with student loneliness experience, and positively related with student coping strategies. Specifically, the availability of support from friends and significant others may minimize loneliness experience. Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak 2021-12-17 Article PeerReviewed Hussin, Siti Haslina and Awang Daud, Awang Ideris and Taibi, Malia and Hussin, Siti Rahayu (2021) Loneliness, coping strategies and perceived social support among students of public universities in Malaysia during the COVID-19 MCO. International Journal of Business and Society, 22 (3). 1402 - 1419. ISSN 1511-6670 https://publisher.unimas.my/ojs/index.php/IJBS/article/view/4311 10.33736/ijbs.4311.2021 |
| spellingShingle | Hussin, Siti Haslina Awang Daud, Awang Ideris Taibi, Malia Hussin, Siti Rahayu Loneliness, coping strategies and perceived social support among students of public universities in Malaysia during the COVID-19 MCO |
| title | Loneliness, coping strategies and perceived social support among students of public universities in Malaysia during the COVID-19 MCO |
| title_full | Loneliness, coping strategies and perceived social support among students of public universities in Malaysia during the COVID-19 MCO |
| title_fullStr | Loneliness, coping strategies and perceived social support among students of public universities in Malaysia during the COVID-19 MCO |
| title_full_unstemmed | Loneliness, coping strategies and perceived social support among students of public universities in Malaysia during the COVID-19 MCO |
| title_short | Loneliness, coping strategies and perceived social support among students of public universities in Malaysia during the COVID-19 MCO |
| title_sort | loneliness, coping strategies and perceived social support among students of public universities in malaysia during the covid-19 mco |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/94045/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/94045/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/94045/ |