Depression and anxiety in the Malaysian urban population and their association with demographic characteristics, quality of life, and the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic

Authors :Abdullah, MFIL (Leong Bin Abdullah, Mohammad Farris Iman); Yusof, HA (Ahmad Yusof, Hazwani); Shariff, NM (Mohd Shariff, Noorsuzana); Hami, R (Hami, Rohayu); Nisman, NF (Nisman, Noor Farahiya); Law, KS (Law, Kim Sooi)

Titles of Publication :Depression and anxiety in the Malaysian urban population and their association with demographic characteristics, quality of life, and the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic

Journal Name :Current Psychology

Quartile :Q2

Impact Factor :2.051

Link :10.1007/s12144-021-01492-2

Description :The prevalence of depression and anxiety has been shown to be higher in the urban population compared with the rural population. The present study investigated the prevalence of depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and depression with comorbid anxiety symptoms and their associated factors in a random sample drawn from several urban communities in Malaysia. This study also determined the association between the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and depression with comorbid anxiety symptoms. We recruited 326 participants, who were administered a sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire; the 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) to assess the presence or absence of depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and depression with comorbid anxiety symptoms; and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQoL-BREF) to assess their QoL.