Research project: Review and Mapping of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services in Malaysia 

The event kicked off with the presentation of a recent mental health research piece commissioned by Yayasan Hasanah to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Siti Roshaidai and her team from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). The survey, conducted in mid-2022 amongst youth aged between 10 to 19 years revealed startling trends. The results showed that almost 1 in every 2 adolescents experience anxiety symptoms, while 1 in every 3 adolescents experience stress and depressive symptoms. This is an increase of 10 percent in depression and anxiety, and 20 percent in stress levels, as compared to the National Health and Morbidity Survey from 2017. 

Segments of youth most at risk were identified to be female students, students at the secondary education level, and students attending boarding schools. Students from larger households with four to five siblings showed the most depressive and anxiety symptoms, while those from B40 backgrounds displayed the worst signs of anxiety. Insufficient diagnosis contributes to negative outcomes such as poor school attendance, low academic performance, and behavioural problems. 

 
Vulnerable Youths 

Vulnerable youths are those who face additional barriers to access of adequate care and support as they struggle with mental health issues. Youths who are most at risk for developing these issues tend to come from low-income homes. Some who started off attempting to self-medicate for depression, anxiety, or stress symptoms inadvertently fell into drug addiction, leading to a cycle of defeat. The Henry Gurney School, where Saora Industries facilitate the reskilling of juvenile inmates, seeks to care for young offenders in the country through rehabilitation programmes.  

Nonetheless, many vulnerable youths go untreated. The panellists shared the mental health issues frequently encountered in their fields of experience, which included:  

• Depression, Anxiety, and Stress: The three most common symptoms observed amongst youths. 

• Suicidal ideation, planning, and attempts: Among adolescents, suicidal ideation has increased from 10% in 2017, to 13.1% in 2022, while suicide attempts have increased from 6.9% to 9.5% in the same duration (Source: Institute for Public Health Malaysia). 
• Loneliness: The prevalence of loneliness has increased from 8.1% in 2012, to 9.3% in 2017, and further to 16.2% in 2022 (Source: Institute for Public Health Malaysia).  
• Other conditions: Adolescents with various clinical diagnoses including mood disorders, eating disorders, and schizophrenia. Vulnerable youths may also include those with learning disabilities. 

Mental Health Begins at Home 

In Malaysian national schools, students and counsellors are aware of the current conditions and stressors that plague young people, with increasing peer support systems over the years. School-based interventions have been in place to support students in areas of mental health. Dr Nurashikin, a public health physician who has been working with the Ministry of Health for the last 28 years, shared briefly about the National Strategic Plan for Mental Health and various ongoing programmes at the educational institution level, including Program Minda Sihat / Sejahtera that has been running for more than a decade, Program Siswa Lestari, and Program Siswa Sihat (PROSIS). As for psychological assessment and services, Klinik Mesra Remaja caters to teens aged between 10 to 19 (Watch video here). 

However, what remains beyond the reach of programmes is the home life of children and adolescents. Dr Nurashikin shared on the gaps in reaching out to parents of teenagers – especially in educating for parents to truly understand the realities that their children face today, and to equip them with skills to communicate with their children. Children, especially vulnerable youths need to be built up with words of encouragement. Furthermore, parental expectations for academic performance exacerbate these issues.  

This barrier of parental support and consent for young people to gain the resources for better access to mental health services need to be overcome through the right policies and pathways, while being careful not to cross ethical boundaries for youth to get the help that they need. “Awareness programmes are good, but they should come hand-in-hand with interventions – both clinical as well as community-based interventions,” concluded Farahin Mohd Azeem. Without this, much remains behind closed doors. 

Collaboration as the Way Forward 

The mental health ecosystem in Malaysia, especially for vulnerable youths is currently occupied by a sizeable number of actors, from NGOs, SMEs, grant providers to individuals from civil society. Farzena Balan recapped with an apt reminder for the audience, that actors ought to be careful not to inadvertently duplicate efforts or compete with one another; but instead to create systems for collaboration and coordination – building upon one another’s strengths while growing the space together, in aspects of awareness-raising, advocacy, and interventions.  

This ILMU Hasanah has brought to light gaps in programmes run and the grassroots experiences of the actors, with the urgent need for sound policies that address the issues of mental health among vulnerable youths, to pave the way forward in Malaysia.