Assessment of Psychological Distress and Coping Strategies among Dental Undergraduate Students in a Malaysian University during COVID-19 Pandemic
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33192/Smj.2022.42Keywords:
Coping strategy, COVID-19, dental student, Malaysia, psychological distressAbstract
Objective: Drastic changes took place in Malaysia due to COVID-19 pandemic including education where the students had to undergo remote teaching and learning at their respective hometown to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This change in the mode of learning is a stressful event faced by the students. This study aimed to assess the psychological distress and the coping strategies of undergraduate dental students during COVID-19 pandemic.
Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on a sample of 224 undergraduate students of Faculty (Kulliyyah) of Dentistry in the academic session of 2020/2021. The psychological distress level was assessed using the Kessler psychological distress scale (K10) and the coping mechanisms of the students were determined using the Brief-cope questionnaire.
Results: The rate of severe psychological distress was found to be 40.18%, while 22.32% and 18.75% had mild and moderate distress respectively. Students that are less than 21 years old showed a significantly lower mean of psychological distress compared to students above 21 years old. There was no statistically significant difference in psychological distress in terms of gender. More students showed approach coping strategy than avoidant coping. Approach coping showed a negative correlation with psychological distress while avoidant coping showed a statistically significant positive correlation with psychological distress.
Conclusion: Psychological distress during COVID-19 pandemic is occurring at a high rate among dental students. Psychological distress level is increased in students with avoidant coping strategies.
References
Payton AR. Mental Health, Mental Illness, and Psychological Distress: Same Continuum or Distinct Phenomena? J Health Soc Behav. 2009;50:213-27.
Stallman HM. Psychological distress in university students: A comparison with general population data. Australian Psychologist. 2010;45(4):249-57.
Ali Sabri Radeef Al-Ani, Ghasak Ghazi Faisal. Depression, anxiety and stress with possible sources of stressors among undergraduate medical students in Malaysia. Brunei International Medical Journal. 2016;12(1):18-25.
Lal K. Academic stress among adolescent in relation to intelligence and demographic factors. American International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. 2014;5(1):123-9.
Drapeau A, Marchand A, Beaulieu-Prévost D. Epidemiology of Psychological Distress, Mental Illnesses – Understanding, Prediction and Control, Prof. Luciano LAbate (Ed.), InTech, 2012.
Institute for Public Health (IPH), 2008. The Third National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS III) 2006. Institute for Public Health, National Institute of Health, Ministry of Health, Malaysia.
Cheema UN, Manzoor I, Rizwan AR, Farrukh U, Masood A, Kalyani GS. Psychosocial changes and coping strategies in home quarantined university students of Pakistan during COVID-19 pandemic. Available from: 344545482_Psychosocial_Changes_and_Coping_Strategies_in_Home_Quarantined_University_Students_of_Pakistan_During_COVID
Rahman MM, Ang AL, Lakshmi N, Chakraverty KH, Shafiqah D, Selvarajoo K. Psychological impact of Covid-19 pandemic on mental health among medical students in Malaysia. Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences. 2021;17(2);119-28.
Wan Mohd Yunus WM, Badri SK, Panatik SA, Mukhtar F. The unprecedented movement control order (lockdown) and factors associated with the negative emotional symptoms, happiness, and work-life balance of Malaysian University students during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Front Psychiatry. 2021;11:566221.
Che Rahimi A, Bakar RS, Mohd Yasin MA. Psychological Well-Being of Malaysian University Students during COVID-19 Pandemic: Do Religiosity and Religious Coping Matter?. In Healthcare 2021 Nov (Vol. 9, No. 11, p. 1535). Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute.
Kessler RC, Barker PR, Colpe LJ, Epstein JF, Gfroerer JC, Hiripi E, et al. Screening for serious mental illness in the general population. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2003;60(2):184-9.
Carver CS. You want to measure coping but your protocol’s too long: consider the brief COPE. Int J Behav Med 1997;4(1):92-100.
Victorian Population Health Survey. Melbourne: Department of Human Services, Victoria; 2001.
Fassaert T, De Wit MA, Tuinebreijer WC, Wouters H, Verhoeff AP, Beekman AT, et al. Psychometric properties of an intervieweradministered version of the Kessler psychological distress
scale (K10) among Dutch, Moroccan, and Turkish respondents. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2009;18:159-68.
Tiong XT, Abdullah NS, Bujang MA, Ratnasingam S, Joon CK, Wee HL, et al. Validation of the Kessler’s Psychological Distress Scale (K10 & K6) in a Malaysian population. ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry. 2018;19(1):77-85.
Herman-Stabl MA, Stemmler M, Petersen AC. Approach and avoidant coping: Implications for adolescent mental health. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 1995;24(6):649-65.
Sabrina F, Chowdhury MT, Nath SK, Imon AA, Quader SM, Jahan M, et al. Psychological distress among Bangladeshi dental students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(1):176.
May LW, Seong LG, Kheng GL. A Quick Survey on Psychological Well-being among Final Year Post-Graduate Students in Faculty of Dentistry, University Malaya during COVID-19 Pandemic. Malaysian Dental Journal. 2021;1:94-105.
Li Y, Wang Y, Jiang J, Valdimarsdóttir UA, Fall K, Fang F, Song H, Lu D, Zhang W. Psychological distress among health professional students during the COVID-19 outbreak. Psychol Med. 2021;51(11):1952-4.
Dendle C, Baulch J, Pellicano R, Hay M, Lichtwark I, Ayoub S, et al. Medical student psychological distress and academic performance. Med Teach. 2018;40(12):1257-63.
Radeef AS, Faisal GG. Psychological Distress and Sources of Stressors amongst Medical and Science Undergraduate Students in Malaysia. Makara Journal of Health Research. 2017;21(2):5. DOI: https://doi/org/10.7454/msk.v21i2.6697
Divaris K, Mafla AC, Villa-Torres L, Sánchez-Molina M, Gallego-Gómez CL, Vélez-Jaramillo LF, et al. Psychological distress and its correlates among dental students: a survey of 17 Colombian dental schools. BMC Med Educ. 2013;13:91.
Ali Sabri Radeef Al-Ani, Ghasak Ghazi Faisal. Internet addiction among dental students in Malaysia. Journal of International Dental and Medical Research. 2019;12(4):1452-6. http://www.jidmr.com/journal/wp-content/uploads/20.
Ali Sabri Radeef Al-Ani, Ghasak Ghazi Faisal. Depression, anxiety and stress among pharmacy students in Malaysia. Journal of International Dental and Medical Research. 2020;13(2):628-32. ISSN 1309-100x
Juth V, Dickerson SS, Zoccola PM, Lam S. Understanding the utility of emotional approach coping: Evidence from a laboratory stressor and daily life. Anxiety Stress Coping. 2015;28(1):50-70.
Hassija CM, Luterek JA, Naragon-Gainey K, Moore SA, Simpson T. Impact of emotional approach coping and hope on PTSD and depression symptoms in a trauma exposed sample of veterans receiving outpatient VA mental health care services. Anxiety Stress Coping. 2012;25(5):559-73.
Chao RC. Managing stress and maintaining well‐being: Social support, problem‐focused coping, and avoidant coping. Journal of Counseling & Development. 2011;89(3):338-48.
Eisenberg SA, Shen BJ, Schwarz ER, Mallon S. Avoidant coping moderates the association between anxiety and patient-rated physical functioning in heart failure patients. J Behav Med. 2012;35(3):253-61.
Norphun N, Pitanupong J, Jiraphan A. Stress and coping strategies among Thai medical students in a southern medical school. Siriraj Med J. 2020;72(3):238-44.
Rukhsana K. Perceived Stress, Academic Workloads and Use of Coping Strategies by University Students. Journal of Behavioural Sciences2010;20:31-45.
Herman-Stabl MA, Stemmler M, Petersen AC. Approach and avoidant coping: Implications for adolescent mental health. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 1995;24(6):649-65.
Dwyer AL, Cummings AL. Stress, self-efficacy, social support, and coping strategies in university students. Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy. 2001;35(3). Available from: https://cjc-rcc.ucalgary.ca/article/view/58672
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Siriraj Medical Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following conditions:
Copyright Transfer
In submitting a manuscript, the authors acknowledge that the work will become the copyrighted property of Siriraj Medical Journal upon publication.
License
Articles are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). This license allows for the sharing of the work for non-commercial purposes with proper attribution to the authors and the journal. However, it does not permit modifications or the creation of derivative works.
Sharing and Access
Authors are encouraged to share their article on their personal or institutional websites and through other non-commercial platforms. Doing so can increase readership and citations.
