THE MENTAL HEALTH OF ADOLESCENT REFUGEES IN MALAYSIA

Authors

  • Sew Kim Low Department of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kampar, Perak, Malaysia
  • Soon Aun Tan Department of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kampar, Perak, Malaysia
  • Jin Kuan Kok Department of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kampar, Perak, Malaysia
  • Sarvarubini Nainee Department of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kampar, Perak, Malaysia
  • Glory Nancy Viapude Department of Social and Development Sciences, Faculty of Human Ecology, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20319/pijss.2018.42.428439

Keywords:

Adolescent Refugees, Anxiety, Depression, Gender, Stress

Abstract

As of June 2017, 24.8 % of the 149, 200 reported refugees in Malaysia aged 18 years and below and of that figure, 33% were females. There has been little research into the mental well-being of the refugee adolescents. This cross-sectional survey study examined the differences in stress, anxiety, and depression faced according to gender and whether there is any association between them. 104 refugee adolescents from four non-governmental organization educational centers participated in the study. The Depression, Anxiety, Stress scale 21 was used to measure the severity of the core symptoms of depression. The results showed that females have significantly higher stress, anxiety and depression compared to that of males at p<.001. Generally,the refugee has mild to normal stress as compared with anxiety and depression where a significant majority of those aged  14-27 years experienced severe to extreme severe anxiety with a moderate level of  depression.  A further analysis found that severe stress positively associated with anxiety and depression. Insights into the stress, anxiety and depression experienced by refugee adolescents are crucial towards understanding the mental health of young refugees. The current study may benefit mental health workers and humanitarian agencies to address and improve the mental health of refugees, regardless of any labels attached to them. 

References

Costello, E. J., Mustillo, S., Erkanli, A., Keeler, G., & Angold, A. (2003). Prevalence and development of psychiatric disorders in childhood and adolescence. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60(8), 837-844. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.60.8.837

Colucci, E., Szware,J.,Minas,H., Paxton,G., & Guerra,C.(2012).The utilization of mental health services by children and young people from a refugee background. A systematic literature review. International Journal of Culture and Mental health. 7(1) https://doi.org/10.1080/17542863.2012.713371

Ellis, B. H., MacDonald, H. Z., Lincoln, A. K., & Cabral, H. J. (2008). Mental health of Somali adolescent refugees: The role of trauma, stress, and perceived discrimination. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76(2), 184–193. doi: 10.1037/0022-06X.76.2.18.

Khoo, Y. H. (2014). Academic stress and teen suicide. Retrieved from http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/opinion/khoo-ying-hooi/article/academic-stress-and-teen-suicide

Kok, J. K., & Goh, L. Y. (2012) Anomic or egoistic suicide: Suicide factors among Malaysia youth. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 2(1), 47–51. doi:10.7763//IJSSH.2012.V2.67.

Kok, J. K., Lee, M. N., & Low, S. K. (2017). Coping abilities and social support of Myanmar teenage refugees in Malaysia. Vulnerable Children and Youth studies,12(1), 71-80. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450128.2016.1263774

Lovibond, P. F., & Lovibond, S. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 335-343. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(94)00075-U

Lewinsohn, P. M., Gotlib, I. H., Lewinsohn, M., Seeley, J. R., & Allen, N. B. (1998). Gender differences in anxiety disorders and anxiety symptoms in adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 107(1), 109-117. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.107.1.109

Low, S. K., Kok, J. K., & Lee, W. Y. (2014). Perceived discrimination and psychological distress of Myanmar refugees in Malaysia. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity 4(3), 201-205. https://doi.org/10.7763/ijssh

Patil, P. A., Porche, M. V., Shippen, N. A., Dallenbach, N. T., & Fortuna, L. R. (In Press). Which girls, which boys? The intersectional risk for depression by race and ethnicity, and gender in the U.S. Clinical Psychology review, xx(xx), xxx-xxx, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2017.12.003

Pinto, P. C., Sanchez, T. G., & Tomita, S. (2010). The impact of gender, age and hearing loss on tinnitus severity. Brazilian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology, 76(1), 18-24. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1808-86942010000100004

Pocock,N.S.,Suphanchaimat,R.,Chan,C.K.,Faller,E.M.,Harrigan,N.,Pillai,V.,Vickramage,K.(2018) Reflections on migrant and refugee health in Malaysia and the ASEAN region. BMC Proceeding.12(4) https://doi.org/10.1186/s12919-018-0100-

Riley, A., Varner, A., Ventevogel, P., & Taimur Hasan, M. M., Welton-Mitchell, C. (2017). Daily stressors, trauma exposure, and mental health among stateless Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Transcultural Psychiatry, 54(3), 304-331. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461517705571

Siah, P. C., Lee, W. L., & Goh. L. Y. (2015). Quality of life among refugee children in Malaysia–a brief report. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 10(4), 294-299. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450128.2015.1092624

Telzer, E., & Fuligni, A. (2013). Positive daily family interactions eliminate gender differences in internalizing symptoms among adolescents. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 42(10), 1498-1511. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9964-y

Tol, W. A., Song, S., & Jordan, M. J. (2013). Annual research review: Resilience and mental health in children and adolescents living in areas of armed conflict–a systematic review of findings in low and middle income countries. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54, 445–460. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12053

Tolman, D. L., Impett, E. A., Tracy, A. J., & Michael, A. (2006). Looking good, sounding good: femininity ideology and adolescent girls' mental health. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30(1), 85-95. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2006.00265.x

UN Refugee Agency.(2010).Convention and protocol relating to the status of refugees(online).retrieved January 23,2018,from http://www.unhcr.org/3b66c2aa10.html

UN Refugee Agency (2018).Figures at a glance in Malaysia (online) Retrieved June 2018 from http://www.unhcr.org/en-my/figures-at-a-glance-in-malaysia.html

Vanneste, S., Joos, K., & De Ridder, D. (2012). Prefrontal cortex based sex differences in tinnitus perception: Same tinnitus intensity, same tinnitus distress, different mood. PLoS One, 7(2), e31182. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0031182

Yaacob, S. N., Juhari, R., Abu Talib, M., & Uda, I. (2009). Loneliness, stress, self-esteem and depression among Malaysian adolescents. Jurnal Kemanusiaan UTM, 7(2), 1-11.

Downloads

Published

2018-07-31

How to Cite

Low, S. K., Tan, S. A., Kok, J. K., Nainee, S., & Viapude, G. N. (2018). THE MENTAL HEALTH OF ADOLESCENT REFUGEES IN MALAYSIA. PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences, 4(2), 428–439. https://doi.org/10.20319/pijss.2018.42.428439

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 2 (2018): Regular Issue

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2018 Authors

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.