Lockdown during COVID-19 Pandemic: The Psychological Responses and Coping Strategies among Medical Students in a Public University in Malaysia

World Health Organization (WHO) had promulgated Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a pandemic in the early year 2020. Following that, the National Security Council of Malaysia had announced the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) in March 2020 to curb the disease. This social distancing measure had inevitably induced undesirable psychological responses among the public, including medical students. In this study, we aim to determine the psychological responses of medical students during the MCO period and their coping strategies. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 245 medical students of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) from 24th to 30th April 2020, using an online questionnaire comprising demographic data, Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS-21), and Brief COPE questionnaire. Nearly 30% of medical students experienced stress, anxiety, or depression. Among all, 9.4% had reported severe anxiety. There were significant differences between avoidance coping strategies and negative psychological responses. In general, the medical students preferred approach coping strategies (M= 29.19, SD = 9.27). Religion (M= 5.62, SD =2.10) was the most favored coping strategy while the least had abused substance (M=2.16, SD.77). A significant statistical difference was revealed in the choice of coping between the genders, for positive reframing, religion, humour, and substance abuse. Pre-clinical students were noted to have significant stress and anxiety levels and more inclined to use avoidance coping strategies. Psychological interventions are essential to address the mental health problems among university students during current and future disasters based on the understanding of their coping strategies

Mental Health Movement in Sarawak in response to COVID-19 pandemic

As the COVID-19 outbreak is affecting the whole world, Malaysia, like many other countries in this world, is also experiencing the crisis. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a greater need for mental health and psychosocial services is expected with the rise in mental health issues nationwide, testing the limits of our current health care system. In fact, mental health is a significant topic within and beyond the Malaysian context even before the COVID-19 pandemic. According to The National Health Morbidity Survey (2015), every 1 in 3 adults aged 16 years and above in Malaysia suffer from mental health issues. Mental illness is expected to be the second biggest health problem affecting Malaysian after heart disease come 2020. Data from the 2017 National Health and Morbidity Survey also revealed that 29 percent of Malaysians suffered from depression and anxiety disorders, an increase from 12 percent in 2011. Nevertheless, the stigma of mental illness remains a barrier for people to seek help. Undoubtedly, COVID-19 pandemic has caused devastating mental health consequences (Qiu et al., 2020). In other words, on top of physical health, mental health is undermined in which psychological distress appear in individuals with or without mental illness. The negative impacts such as financial burden and loneliness alongside the implementation of Movement Control Order (MCO) in fighting the COVID-19 also led to an upsurge in depression, anxiety, substance use, trauma, and even suicide among the affected population (Shanmugam et al., 2020). Thus, mental health professionals need to be better prepared in facing such critical events. To date, the literature on mental health and COVID-19 has been published by several affected and more developed countries; yet this may not reflect the experience of people from developing countries like Malaysia. Mental health services in Malaysia is considered as a relatively young industry (Chong et al., 2013) and more so in East Malaysia with its different social and cultural background as well as limited resources. Sarawak, Malaysia’s largest state on the island of Borneo is home to 27 ethnic groups with 45 different dialects while each group has its very unique traditions, values, attitudes, and practices. In the past, mental health was not given high priority and thus the mental health service is underdeveloped. In recent years, the Sarawak government had started to pay more attention to the mental well-being of its people. Despite that, the awareness of mental health services in Sarawak is still low. Therefore, the dearth of local literature on mental health and Covid-19 in Sarawak calls for the current paper. This paper presents a review of the mental health movement in Sarawak. Firstly, this paper provides a brief historical overview of the development of mental health services in Sarawak. Researchers trace the establishment of asylums in Sarawak as well as the growth of major mental health professionals in the field. Secondly, the current situation of the mental health sector is followed, including the shift of conventional service to the provision of teleconsultation and psychological first aid in the era of COVID-19. In addition, the mental health resources in terms of professional service providers and NGOs’ involvement in Sarawak’s mental health providers such as the Mental Health Association of Sarawak and Befrienders Kuching are reviewed. Researchers also highlighted the formation of the first one-stop centre by Sarawak state government i.e. the Sarawak Psychology & Counselling Centre in the efforts of addressing mental health issues. Thirdly, the potential paths of the mental health movement are discussed. Amid the crisis, the researchers remain hopeful that COVID-19 could drive mental health movement forward to create a more holistic healthcare system for Sarawakians

Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for children with reading difficulties : A case study

Background: Children with reading difficulties are at risk for vicious cycles of struggles, failure, demoralization, lack of interest in school, emotional difficulties such as anxiety and frustration, behavioural problems, and psychosocial maladjustments. The cycles of academic struggles lead to further academic failure, psychosocial, and behavioural problems. These risk factors are developmentally cumulative across grades starting early in preschool and primary school. Interventionists such as educational therapists of children with specific learning disabilities are faced with challenges in providing holistic solutions that focus on both the academic and cognitive-behavioural needs of children. Cognitive behaviour therapy is an under-explored approach when conducting educational therapy for children with SLD

Perspective on Marriage Among Young Chinese Women in Malaysia

Aims: This paper is based on the subjective views of young Chinese women in Malaysia. The percentage of 30 to 34-year-olds who had never been married doubled, rising from 6% to 12% for women and from 12% to 25% for men over three decades from the 1970s to the 2000s. The aim of this survey is to shed light on young Chinese Malaysian ladies’ perspectives and challenges related to marriage. Methods: Forty participants between the age of 25 to 40 participated in this study using a selective sampling and snowball method. The data was collected using an online questionnaire consisting of both qualitative and quantitative elements. Results: The findings demonstrated that 61% of participants felt it is not necessary to get married at a specific age. Most of them believed that marriage is an option in life and it does not symbolize the completeness of self. Among the more common reasons for getting married are companionship, the formation of a family that symbolized the continuity of a family line, and practical benefits such as legal protection and financial support. Contrary to most western studies in which love is a major factor in facilitating their decision to get married, Malaysian Chinese ladies cited companionship being a crucial reason. Most women hesitated to commit to a marriage mainly because of fear and failed to find a partner that meets their expectations (the right person). The fears include fear of uncertainties, fear of bad outcomes (a preference for monogamy), fear of unmet family expectations, and fear of commitment to potential unhealthy family dynamics especially those with previous traumatic experiences from original or other known families. They preferred to avoid involving in such vicious cycles, e.g., the strained relationship between two families or extended families. Having limited social circles and perceiving that marriage is not the top priority in present life had hindered the ladies from actively seeking a life partner for marriage. Participants also suggested ways to improve their situation if they were to get engaged in marriage. One of the possible practicable steps is to expand their social circle. This could be done by attending some love matching activities or with the use of social apps. An increase in personal willingness and readiness to grab the opportunity, and practice more self-love and self-care are other important steps. Approximately 12% of them were clueless about how to involve themselves in a relationship in the future. Discussion and Suggestions: Marriage is perceived as a not-the-only option and is obligatory for young Malaysian Chinese ladies in the age range of 30s. The authors opined that young Malaysian Chinese ladies are more concerned about quality of living rather than marriage, and preferred to be self-dependent, mainly due to the exponential growth of the economic and educational system, in addition to the advocacy for the women rights in recent years. This is contrary to the traditional Chinese culture of male superiority. The current study only allows us to have an overview of the group’s perspective and an in-depth interview shall be conducted for further understanding

Psychosocial Intervention in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic in Sarawak

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has been anticipating a greater need for mental health and psychosocial support with the rise in mental health issues when facing many struggles and uncertainties, testing the limits of our current health care system. In this paper, we aim to present a general view of the psychosocial support implemented in Sarawak during the COVID-19 pandemic from the lens of different socio-ecological systems in Sarawak which include the healthcare system, community organizations, and the policy makers. Firstly, this paper provides an overview of the COVID-19 situation in Sarawak in general for the past year. Worth to mention, Sarawak was the first state in Malaysia recorded fatality case resulted from COVID-19 and this inevitably triggered strong negative emotional response during the initial stage of the pandemic. Secondly, the combined efforts initiated by the local state government, the state health departments, several general hospitals and major health clinics were addressed. The delivery of health care service had to be modified according to the strict preventive and social distancing measures recommended by the public health system, including the shift of conventional service to the provision of tele-counselling and psychological first aid. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on mental health has brought the politicians’ attention. Lastly, the challenges faced in dealing with the mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential paths of the mental health movement were discussed

Perceived Financial Threat and Psychological Effects on Working Adults in Sarawak During Lockdown for COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: The emergence of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) led to the implementation of special mea-sures such as the Movement Control Order (MCO), which in return had caused economic disturbances and psycho-logical effects across many countries over the globe. Objective: Our study aims to determine the perceived financial threat and its predictors, the relationship with psychological outcomes on working adults’ populations in Sarawak during lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodsology: We recruited 336 respondents from all divisions in Sarawak through an online survey with sociodemographic data, questionnaires were adapted from the Financial Threat Scale (FTS) to assess the perceived financial threat, and the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales 21 (DASS-21) to evaluate the psychological impact of lockdown implementation. IBM SPSS version 23.0 was used for data analysis. A p-value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The analysis revealed that the employment sector, number of children, and change in income during lockdown were important predictors associated with the per-ceived financial threat. 47.9% of the respondents perceived a moderate-to-severe financial threat. Of these, 72.6% were self-employed, 54.6% were without children and 60.0% had experienced decreased in income during the lockdown. Several factors were identified to be significantly associated with the negative psychological outcomes, namely employment sector, marital status, number of children, and number of liabilities. Generally, a severe per-ceived financial threat was significantly associated with severe levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Conclusion: There is an urgency to develop strategic plans and policies to provide economic and psychological support for the communities affected by the lockdown and COVID-19 disease