Journal Screenshot

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2222-6990

Association of Social Support and Mental Health Literacy with Quality of Life among University Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Siti Nur Syuhada Musa, Siti Raba’ah Hamzah, Muhammad Nur Waafi Bin Badruldin, Nurul Afifah Amiludin, Qurratul Ain Zameram, Muhd Jamil Muhshi Kamaruzaman, Nur Najwa Said, Nursyamimi Amirah Ahmad Haniff

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v12-i7/14296

Open access

Social support is one of the main factors that influence the quality of one’s life. In this regard, mental health literacy is consistently associated with positive outcomes for students, in terms of their wellbeing and academic achievement. The present study is especially important to young people because understanding their quality of life can facilitate their life as a student and preparing them to their future of work. This study investigated the relationship between social support and mental health literacy in relation to the quality of life among Malaysian university students. A quantitative research paradigm was adopted, with a cross-sectional design using data collected from 140 randomly selected university students. The data was analyzed by SPSS software version 25 using the Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression. The results showed positive relationships between social support and mental health literacy towards quality of life. Thus, hypothesis 1 and hypothesis 2 was accepted. In the multiple linear analysis, nevertheless, mental health literacy was not found to influence the quality of life independently of social support. Appropriate programs should be designed and implemented to enhance the level of mental health literacy and, more importantly, to ensure adequate social support for students in order to promote a high quality of life.

Abdullah, M. F. I. L. B., Mansor, N. S., Mohamad, M. A., & Teoh, S. H. (2021). Quality of life and associated factors among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study. BMJ open, 11(10), e048446.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-048446
Alsubaie, M. M., Stain, H. J., Webster, L. A. D., & Wadman, R. (2019). The role of sources of social support on depression and quality of life for university students. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 24(4), 484-496.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2019.1568887
Barati, M., Bijari, S., Taherpour, M., & Afshari, M. (2019). Investigating the relationship between staff health literacy and quality of life in Famennian County: a cross-sectional study. Journal of Health Literacy, 4(3), 46-55.
http://doi.org/10.22038/jhl.2019.42769.1078
Bjørnsen, H. N., Espnes, G. A., Eilertsen, M. E. B., Ringdal, R., & Moksnes, U. K. (2019). The relationship between positive mental health literacy and mental well-being among adolescents: implications for school health services. The Journal of School Nursing, 35(2), 107-116. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059840517732125
Bradley, G. L., Ferguson, S., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2021). Parental support, peer support and school connectedness as foundations for student engagement and academic achievement in Australian youth. In Handbook of Positive Youth Development (pp. 219-236). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70262-5_15
Bukhari, S. R., & Afzal, F. (2017). Perceived social support predicts psychological problems among university students. The International Journal of Indian Psychology, 4(2), 2349–3429.
Burns, D., Dagnall, N., & Holt, M. (2020, October). Assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student wellbeing at universities in the United Kingdom: A conceptual analysis. In Frontiers in Education, 5:582882
https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.582882
Cao, W., Fang, Z., Hou, G., Han, M., Xu, X., Dong, J., & Zheng, J. (2020). The psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on college students in China. Psychiatry research, 287, 112934. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112934
Cheah, W. L., Law, L. S., Teh, K. H., Kam, S. L., Voon, G. E. H., Lim, H. Y., & Shashi Kumar, N. S. (2021). Quality of life among undergraduate university students during COVID?19 movement control order in Sarawak. Health Science Reports, 4(3), e362.
Cleofas, J. V. (2020). Student involvement, mental health and quality of life of college students in a selected university in Manila, Philippines. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 25(1), 435-447.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2019.1670683
Dafaalla, M., Farah, A., Bashir, S., Khalil, A., Abdulhamid, R., Mokhtar, M., Abdalrahman, I. (2016). Depression, anxiety, and stress in sudanese medical students: A cross sectional study on role of quality of life and social support. American Journal of Educational Research, 4(13). 937-942. http://pubs.sciepub.com/education/4/13/4
Dubey, S., Biswas, P., Ghosh, R., Chatterjee, S., Dubey, M. J., Chatterjee, S., ... & Lavie, C. J. (2020). Psychosocial impact of COVID-19. Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: clinical research & reviews, 14(5), 779-788. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsx.2020.05.035
Farris, S. G., Kibbey, M. M., Fedorenko, E. J., & DiBello, A. M. (2021). A qualitative study of COVID-19 distress in university students. Emerging Adulthood, 9(5), 462-478. https://doi.org/10.1177/21676968211025128
Fegert, J. M., Vitiello, B., Plener, P. L., & Clemens, V. (2020). Challenges and burden of the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic for child and adolescent mental health: a narrative review to highlight clinical and research needs in the acute phase and the long return to normality. Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health, 14(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-020-00329-3
Gan, G. G., & Yuen Ling, H. (2019). Anxiety, depression and quality of life of medical students in Malaysia. Med J Malaysia, 74(1), 57-61.
Goodyear, V. A., Boardley, I., Chiou, S. Y., Fenton, S. A., Makopoulou, K., Stathi, A., ... & Thompson, J. L. (2021). Social media use informing behaviours related to physical activity, diet and quality of life during COVID-19: a mixed methods study. BMC public health, 21(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11398-0
Jafari, A., Nejatian, M., Momeniyan, V., Barsalani, F. R., & Tehrani, H. (2021). Mental health literacy and quality of life in Iran: a cross-sectional study. BMC psychiatry, 21(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-021-03507-5
Jafry, M. Z., Martinez, J., Chen, T. A., Businelle, M. S., Kendzor, D. E., & Reitzel, L. R. (2021). Perceived Social Support Attenuates the Association between Stress and Health-Related Quality of Life among Adults Experiencing Homelessness. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(20), 10713. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182010713
Jorm, A. F., & Oh, E. (2009). Desire for social distance from people with mental disorders. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 43(3), 183-200. https://doi.org/10.1080/00048670802653349
Kamaludin, K., Chinna, K., Sundarasen, S., Khoshaim, H. B., Nurunnabi, M., Baloch, G. M., ... & Hossain, S. F. A. (2020). Coping with COVID-19 and movement control order (MCO): experiences of university students in Malaysia. Heliyon, 6(11), e05339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05339
Keener, T. A., Hall, K., Wang, K., Hulsey, T., & Piamjariyakul, U. (2021). Quality of life, resilience, and related factors of nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurse Educator, 46(3), 143-148.
https://doi.org/10.1097/NNE.0000000000000969
Kelly, C. M., Jorm, A. F., & Wright, A. (2007). Improving mental health literacy as a strategy to facilitate early intervention for mental disorders. Medical Journal of Australia, 187(S7), S26-S30. https://doi.org/10.5694/j.1326-5377.2007.tb01332.x
Kumar, J. A., Richard, R. J., Osman, S., & Lowrence, K. (2022). Micro-credentials in leveraging emergency remote teaching: the relationship between novice users’ insights and identity in Malaysia. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 19(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-022-00323-z
Lam, L. T. (2014). Mental health literacy and mental health status in adolescents: a population-based survey. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 8(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/1753-2000-8-26
Lee, H. Y., Hwang, J., Ball, J. G., Lee, J., Yu, Y., & Albright, D. L. (2020). Mental health literacy affects mental health attitude: is there a gender difference?. American journal of health behavior, 44(3), 282-291. https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.44.3.1
Leung, J. T., & Fung, A. L. (2021). Special issue on quality of life among children and adolescents in Chinese societies. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 16(6), 2287-2290. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-021-09915-9
Li, J., Han, X., Wang, W., Sun, G., & Cheng, Z. (2018). How social support influences university students' academic achievement and emotional exhaustion: The mediating role of self-esteem. Learning and individual differences, 61, 120-126.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2017.11.016
Mai, Y., Wu, Y. J., & Huang, Y. (2021). What type of social support is important for student resilience during COVID-19? A latent profile analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 2463. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.646145
Marques, L., Bartuska, A. D., Cohen, J. N., & Youn, S. J. (2020). Three steps to flatten the mental health need curve amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Depression and anxiety, 37(5), 405–406. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.23031
O’Connor, M., & Casey, L. (2015). The Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS): A new scale-based measure of mental health literacy. Psychiatry research, 229(1-2), 511-516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2015.05.064
Ran, M., Peng, L., Liu, Q., Pender, M., He, F., & Wang, H. (2018). The association between quality of life (QOL) and health literacy among junior middle school students: a cross-sectional study. BMC public health, 18(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-6082-5
Renwick, L., Pedley, R., Johnson, I., Bell, V., Lovell, K., Bee, P., & Brooks, H. (2022). Mental health literacy in children and adolescents in low-and middle-income countries: a mixed studies systematic review and narrative synthesis. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-022-01997-6
Ribeiro, Í. J., Pereira, R., Freire, I. V., de Oliveira, B. G., Casotti, C. A., & Boery, E. N. (2018). Stress and quality of life among university students: A systematic literature review. Health Professions Education, 4(2), 70-77.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpe.2017.03.002
Riiser, K., Helseth, S., Haraldstad, K., Torbjørnsen, A., & Richardsen, K. R. (2020). Adolescents’ health literacy, health protective measures, and health-related quality of life during the Covid-19 pandemic. PloS one, 15(8), e0238161.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238161
Riiser, K., Helseth, S., Haraldstad, K., Torbjørnsen, A., & Richardsen, K. R. (2020). Adolescents’ health literacy, health protective measures, and health-related quality of life during the Covid-19 pandemic. PloS one, 15(8), e0238161.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238161
Sayah, F. A., Qiu, W., Johnson, J. A. (2016). Health literacy and health-related quality of life in adults with type 2 diabetes: a longitudinal study. Qual Life Res, 25(6), 1487–94. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-015-1184-3.
Schwarzer, R., Knoll, N., & Rieckmann, N. (2004). Social support. Health psychology, 158, 181.
Scott, S. R., Rivera, K. M., Rushing, E., Manczak, E. M., Rozek, C. S., & Doom, J. R. (2021). “I Hate This”: A Qualitative Analysis of Adolescents' Self-Reported Challenges During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Adolescent Health, 68(2), 262-269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.11.010
Szczepanska, A., & Pietrzyka, K. (2021). The COVID-19 epidemic in Poland and its influence on the quality of life of university students (young adults) in the context of restricted access to public spaces. Journal of Public Health, 1-11.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-020-01456-z
Teixeira, S., Ferré-Grau, C., Canut, T. L., Pires, R., Carvalho, J. C., Ribeiro, I., ... & Sequeira, C. A. (2022). Positive mental health in university students and its relations with psychological vulnerability, mental health literacy, and sociodemographic characteristics: a descriptive correlational study. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(6), 3185.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063185
Wittrup, A., & Hurd, N. (2021). Extracurricular involvement, homesickness, and depressive symptoms among underrepresented college students. Emerging Adulthood, 9(2), 158-169. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696819847333
World Health Organisation. (1998). Development of the world health organisation WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment. Psychological Medicine, 28, 551–558. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291798006667
Xia, J., Wu, P., Deng, Q., Yan, R., Yang, R., Lv, B., & Yu, J. (2019). Relationship between health literacy and quality of life among cancer survivors in China: a cross-sectional study. BMJ open, 9(12), e028458. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028458
Yang, C., Xia, M., & Zhou, Y. (2020). How is perceived social support linked to life satisfaction for individuals with substance-use disorders? The mediating role of resilience and positive affect. Current Psychology, 41, 2719–2732. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00783-4
Ye, Y., Huang, X., & Liu, Y. (2021). Social support and academic burnout among university students: a moderated mediation model. Psychology research and behavior management, 14, 335-344. https://doi.org/ 10.2147/PRBM.S300797
Yusuf, B. N., & Ahmad, J. (2020). Are we prepared enough? A case study of challenges in online learning in a private higher learning institution during the Covid-19 outbreaks. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 7(5), 205-212. https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.75.8211
Zarezadeh, Y., Eskandari, N., Moradi, M., & Abdi, N. (2020). The relationship between health literacy and quality of life of employees in campus of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences. Journal of Health Literacy, 4(4), 38-45.
http://doi.org/10.22038/jhl.2020.44567.1088
Zhang, Y., Qu, B., Lun, S., Wang, D., Guo, Y., & Liu, J. (2012). Quality of life of medical students in China: a study using the WHOQOL-BREF. PloS one, 7(11), e49714. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0049714
Zimet, G. D., Dahlem, N. W., Zimet, S. G., & Farley, G. K. (1988). The multidimensional scale of perceived social support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52(1), 30–41. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa5201_2

In-Text Citation: (Musa et al., 2022)
To Cite this Article: Musa, S. N. S., Hamzah, S. R., Badruldin, M. N. W. B., Amiludin, N. A., Zameram, Q. A., Kamaruzaman, M. J. M., Said, N. N., & Haniff, N. A. A. (2022). Association of Social Support and Mental Health Literacy with Quality of Life among University Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. 12(7), 662 – 674.