The Influence of Coping Skills on Psychological Distress and Suicide Attitude among University Students in Malaysia

Norhayati Ibrahim, Norhayati Ibrahim, A’isyah Mohd Safien, Ching Sin Siau

2019

Abstract

Suicide is a leading cause of death among university students worldwide. The reduction of psychological distress and suicidality is related to the adoption of effective coping strategies. This study sought to explore the associations between psychological distress, coping style and suicide attitude among university students in Malaysia. This study was conducted upon 178 students in two universities from public and private settings. Participants completed four self-report questionnaires, namely the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), Brief COPE and Yatt Suicide Attitude Scale (YSAS). Students from the private university showed significantly higher levels of psychological distress compared to students from the public university, but their suicide attitude did not differ significantly. There is a significant relationship between psychological distress and suicide attitude participant (r= .263, p < .001) and the most commonly employed coping strategies among them were the Religion and Positive Reframing domains. Behavioral Disengagement and Self-Blame predicted higher psychological distress, whereas participant were Substance Use, Planning and Self-Blame predicted higher suicide attitude. The suicide rate is rising and young adults need to adopt appropriate and effective coping strategies, especially among university students. Both public and private university students should be targeted for regular screening for psychological distress and suicidality as they are a psychologically vulnerable population.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Ibrahim N., Ibrahim N., Safien A. and Siau C. (2019). The Influence of Coping Skills on Psychological Distress and Suicide Attitude among University Students in Malaysia.In Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Social, Economy, Education and Humanity - Volume 1: ICoSEEH, ISBN 978-989-758-464-0, pages 101-108. DOI: 10.5220/0009060201010108

in Bibtex Style

@conference{icoseeh19,
author={Norhayati Ibrahim and Norhayati Ibrahim and A’isyah Mohd Safien and Ching Sin Siau},
title={The Influence of Coping Skills on Psychological Distress and Suicide Attitude among University Students in Malaysia},
booktitle={Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Social, Economy, Education and Humanity - Volume 1: ICoSEEH,},
year={2019},
pages={101-108},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0009060201010108},
isbn={978-989-758-464-0},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Social, Economy, Education and Humanity - Volume 1: ICoSEEH,
TI - The Influence of Coping Skills on Psychological Distress and Suicide Attitude among University Students in Malaysia
SN - 978-989-758-464-0
AU - Ibrahim N.
AU - Ibrahim N.
AU - Safien A.
AU - Siau C.
PY - 2019
SP - 101
EP - 108
DO - 10.5220/0009060201010108