Assessing Mental Well-being among University Students: Factors Associated and Coping Strategies

During Covid-19 outbreaks, university students were reported to be at heightened risk of having psychological distress and mental health difficulties. The outbreak of Covid-19 has had a great impact on the learning of university students. Students were unable to focus on their studies, felt anxious about their studies, lacked confidence in their studies, and made more mistakes than usual. Hence, this study has a two-fold objective: (1) identify the factors associated with mental well-being among university students; and (2) investigate the relationship between mental well-being and coping styles among university students. A cross-sectional correlational study was carried out among final year students in one of the public university in Malaysia. Data was collected within 3-months starting from October to December 2021 through an online survey via Google form that was randomly sent to the respective respondents. The obtained data were analysed using IBM SPSS version 26. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed. A total of 314 data were valid in analysis. The data analysis indicated that academic workload, family support, and financial issues predicting depression among the university students. Furthermore, the association between religion and spiritual coping style is the only indicator of depression. The study findings may be useful in improving the mental well-being of university students. Efficient and effective coping strategies in dealing with stress, anxiety and even depression need more investigation in future studies. Keywords: Academic workload, coping styles, financial issues, mental well-being
Introduction The Covid-19 outbreak was first reported to the World Health Organization on December 31, 2019, and was officially declared a public health emergency of international concern on January 30, [...]