5/3/2023 0 Comments Mental health issues![]() In addition, 212 participants (13.4%) reported suicidal and self-harming thoughts.Ĭonsultant Psychiatrist and President of the Malaysian Mental Health Association Prof Datuk Dr Andrew Mohanraj ( pic) said poor-quality housing, high-density living conditions, excessive noise, and other social conditions often found in the lower socio-economic areas of the Klang Valley can contribute towards increased cases of depression and anxiety. Of these, 10.7% have depression symptoms, and 7.2% have anxiety symptoms. “The Contributing Factors to Psychological Distress, Coping Strategies and Help-Seeking Behaviours among Adolescents Living in the Klang Valley’s People’s Housing Projects” report found that 12.3% of adolescents aged 10 to 17 living in PPRs experience psychological distress. “Train a large number of counsellors to support children, as well as facilitate group discussions, to enable students to express and process the emotional impact of the pandemic,” he said, adding that increased funding is needed to expand access to mental health services nationwide. He said studies had also shown that mental health crises among adolescents had been worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic as a result of social isolation and learning loss. In the NMHS data, suicidal ideation was higher in urban students compared to those in rural communities, he added. The 2017 NHMS data showed a rise in rates from an earlier 2012 NHMS study. In addition, 10% reported suicidal ideation. “The National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2017, which did a much larger national sample of more than 40,000 students aged 10 to 17, using validated tools, showed that one in five students (20%) were depressed, two in five (40%) were anxious, and one in 10 (10%) were stressed,” he said. He added that previous studies had also indicated the problem was not confined to the Klang Valley or PPR. ![]() ![]() They said school-based prevention programmes that would enable teachers and counsellors to detect such cases would be a good step.Ĭonsultant paediatrician Datuk Dr Amar-Singh HSS said although the figures in the recent report were alarming, they were not unexpected. The experts also noted that there was a global mental health pandemic, especially among teenagers, and Malaysia was no exception. PETALING JAYA: Social intervention is needed to address mental health problems among youth, particularly those living in people’s housing projects (PPR), as a purely medical approach may not work, say health experts.
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