Prevalence and Associated Factors of Emotional Disorder among Malaysian University Students

Background: Depression will result in poor academic performance and a large number of psychological problems. Psychological morbidity among university students represents a neglected public health problem and holds major implications for campus health services and mental policy making. Objectives: The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence and associated factors of emotional disorder among university students. Methodology: Cross-sectional study was conducted among Management and Science University students. Three hundred thirty eight students were selected randomly from all faculties. The data was collected from the lectures halls, library and university café. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 13, t-test and ANOVA test were used. Results: A total number of 338 university students participated in this study. The majority of the participants were 20 years old and above; female, Malay, and from urban areas (74.6%, 72.8%, 93.5%, 87.3%; respectively). The prevalence of emotional disorders among university students in this study was 48.3%. Residency, gender, and smoking were significantly influenced the emotional disorder among university students (p=0.012, p=0.030, p=0.006; respectively). Conclusion: Emotional disorders are common among university students. Gender, residency and smoking showed a significant influence the emotional disorder among university students. Therefore, psychiatric units in all Malaysian university are an urgent need to counsel and detect the emotional disorder early among students.