School of Psychology, Pevensey I, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
Research & Development, Sussex Education Centre, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Millview Hospital, Hove, UK.
Early Interv Psychiatry. 2020 Feb;14(1):115-123. doi: 10.1111/eip.12832. Epub 2019 May 21.
Mental health problems are prevalent among young people in Malaysia yet access to specialist mental health care is extremely limited. More context-specific research is needed to understand the factors affecting help-seeking in youth, when mental health problems typically have first onset. We aimed to explore the attitudes of vulnerable young Malaysians regarding mental health problems including unusual psychological experiences, help-seeking and mental health treatment.
In the present study, nine young people (aged 16-23 years) from low-income backgrounds participated in a semi-structured interview about their perspectives on mental health problems, unusual psychological experiences and help-seeking.
Four themes were developed using thematic analysis. "Is it that they [have] family problems?" reflected participants' explanatory models of mental health problems. "Maybe in Malaysia" was concerned with perceptions of Malaysian culture as both encouraging of open sharing of problems and experiences, but also potentially stigmatizing. "You have to ask for help" emphasized the importance of mental health help-seeking despite potential stigma. "It depends on the person" addressed the challenges of engaging with psychological therapy.
We conclude that young people in Malaysia may hold compassionate, non-stigmatizing views towards people experiencing mental health problems and a desire to increase their knowledge and understandings. Yet societal stigma is a perceived reputational risk that may affect mental health problem disclosure and help-seeking. We suggest that efforts to improve mental health literacy would be valued by young Malaysians and could support reduced stigma and earlier help-seeking.
马来西亚年轻人普遍存在心理健康问题，但获得专业心理健康护理的机会极其有限。需要更多针对特定背景的研究来了解影响年轻人寻求帮助的因素，因为心理健康问题通常是首次出现。我们旨在探讨弱势马来西亚年轻人对心理健康问题的态度，包括异常心理体验、寻求帮助和精神健康治疗。
在本研究中，9 名来自低收入背景的年轻人（16-23 岁）参加了关于他们对心理健康问题、异常心理体验和寻求帮助的看法的半结构化访谈。
使用主题分析方法开发了四个主题。“是不是他们[有]家庭问题？”反映了参与者对心理健康问题的解释模型。“也许在马来西亚”关注马来西亚文化的看法，既鼓励公开分享问题和经验，但也可能带有污名化。“你必须寻求帮助”强调了尽管存在污名化，但寻求心理健康帮助的重要性。“这取决于个人”解决了参与心理治疗的挑战。
我们的结论是，马来西亚的年轻人可能对经历心理健康问题的人持有富有同情心、非污名化的观点，并渴望增加他们的知识和理解。然而，社会污名化是一种感知到的声誉风险，可能会影响心理健康问题的披露和寻求帮助。我们建议，提高心理健康素养的努力将受到马来西亚年轻人的重视，并有助于减少污名化和更早寻求帮助。
