Nowadays, family members are gradually taking on the role of full-time caregivers for patients suffering from schizophrenia. The increasing burden and tasks of caretaking can cause them psychological distress such as depression or anxiety. The aim of this study was to measure the correlation between perceived stigma and coping, and psychological distress as well as determine the predictors of psychological distress among the caregivers. Results showed that 31.5% of the caregivers experienced psychological distress. “Community rejection” was found to be positively associated with psychological distress. In case of coping subscales, psychological distress had a positive correlation with substance use, use of emotional support, behavioral disengagement, venting, and self-blame, while it was negatively correlated with “positive reframing”. Behavioral disengagement was the best predictor of psychological distress among caregivers of patients with schizophrenia, followed by positive reframing, use of emotional support, self-blame, and venting. Health practitioners can use adaptive coping strategies instead of maladaptive for caregivers to help ease their distress and prevent further deterioration of psychological disorders.

Introduction: Chronic stress in adolescents may cause physical, mental and emotional health issues which lead to poor outcomes if left untreated. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress, and their association with stressors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 350 students in a selected boarding school. Two validated Malay version questionnaires were used as instruments, which comprised the 21-item Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale to assess depression, anxiety and stress level, and Soalselidik Stressor Sekolah Menengah to assess stressors. Results: The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress were 39.7%, 67.1% and 44.9%, respectively. The highest mean score was 2.3 (Ϯ0.80) for the academic-related stressor. All stressors (academic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, teacher, learning/teaching and social group) had significant association with depression, anxiety and stress (P < 0.001). Multiple regression showed that both the intrapersonal-related stressor and learning/teachingrelated stressor were 2.8-and 2.0-times more likely (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 2.8 [P < 0.001] and OR = 2.0 [P = 0.002], respectively) to cause depressive symptoms. On the other hand, the interpersonal-related stressor was 2.9-times more likely (adjusted OR = 2.9, P < 0.001) to cause anxiety. The learning/teaching-related and intrapersonal-related stressors were 2.7-and 2.5-times more likely to develop stress (adjusted OR = 2.7 [P < 0.001] and OR = 2.5 [P = 0.001], respectively). Discussion: The possibility of introducing screening for mental health problems among boarding school students needs to be considered and investigated. Addressing the possible stressors and employing healthy coping may help in reducing negative emotional outcomes in these students.

Kratom (Mitragynaspeciosa), a natural existing plant found in South-East Asia, is tradi-tionally used as an herb to help to elevate a person's energy and also to treat numerous medical ailments. Other than the analgesic property, kratom has been used as an agent to overcome opioid withdrawal as it contains natural alkaloids, i.e. mitragynine, 7-hydroxymitragynine, and MGM-9, which has agonist affinity on the opioid receptors, including mu (μ) and kappa (κ). The role of neural reward pathway linked to μ-opioid receptors and both dopaminergic and GABA-ergic interneurons that express μ-opioid receptors were deliberated. However, kratom has been reported to be abused together with other illicit substances with high risk of potential addiction. There are also anecdotes of an adverse effect and toxicity of kratom, i.e. tremor, fatigue, seizure, and death. Different countries have distinctive regulation and policy on the plantation and use of this plant when most of the countries banned the use of it because of its addiction problems and side effects. The aim of this review is to highlight on the potential use of kratom, a unique 'herbs" as a substitution therapy for chronic pain and opioid addiction, based on the neurobiological perspective of pain and the underlying mechanism of actions of drug addiction.

Background The high number of adolescents and young adults harbouring suicidal ideation, as reported by the Ministry of Health Malaysia, is alarming. This cross-sectional study aims to examine the association between social support and spiritual wellbeing in predicting suicidal ideation among Malaysian adolescents. Methods A total of 176 adolescents in selected urban areas in the states of Wilayah Persekutuan and Selangor were selected. The Suicide Ideation Scale (SIS) was used to measure the level of severity or tendency of suicidal ideation. The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) was used to measure the perceived social support received by the respondent while the Spiritual Wellbeing Scale (SWBS) was used to measure the religious wellbeing (RWB), the existential wellbeing (EWB) and the overall score of spiritual wellbeing (SWB). Results The study found that both RWB and EWB showed significant negative correlation with suicidal ideation. Similarly, support from family and friends also showed a negative correlation with suicidal ideation. Further analysis using multiple regressions showed that RWB and SWB, and family support predict suicidal ideation in adolescents. Conclusion Spiritual wellbeing in combination with family support plays a major role in predicting suicidal ideation. Therefore, intervention for encompassing spirituality and family support may contribute to a more positive outcome in suicidal adolescents.

As there were more similarities than differences in health-care workers' attitudes toward suicide, recommendations on basic and continuous suicide prevention and management training among hospital workers were made. The interventions focused on improving knowledge, affective, and skill-based areas that were aimed to correct the wrongful understanding of and to minimize the negative attitudes toward suicidal individuals indicated by the study results.

This study confirmed the short-term effectiveness of the gatekeeper training program. Gatekeeper suicide training is recommended for implementation for nonpsychiatric health professionals nationwide.

Background: The trend of depression is rising worldwide. There are limited studies on depression in adolescents. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of and identify the factors associated with depressive symptoms in adolescents in Kuching, Malaysia, and to analyze the relationship between depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 320 students from urban and rural secondary schools. The participants were randomly selected via multi-stage sampling. They completed the Malay versions of the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS). Results: The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 26.2%. On binary logistic regression analysis, variables with significant association with depressive symptoms were race (P = 0.028), type of class (P < 0.001), mother's education level (P = 0.036), type of housing (P = 0.036), parents' marital status (P = 0.012), alcohol intake (P = 0.005), stealing (P < 0.001) and history of disciplinary record (P = 0.005). Variables that remained significant on multivariable logistic regression were type of class (P = 0.004), parents' marital status (P = 0.017) and stealing (P < 0.001). Students from the Arts stream (OR, 2.43) with parents who were separated, divorced or widowed (OR, 3.13) and who had experience of stealing (OR, 3.27) were predicted to be at risk of developing depressive symptoms. There was a significant correlation between total CDI score and total BSS score (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The prevalence of depressive symptoms in adolescents was high. Depressive symptoms are significantly correlated with suicidal ideation. Greater collaboration between the education and health agencies is essential for mental health promotion in schools and early detection of depression, especially in at-risk adolescents.

Understanding attitudes toward suicide, especially among healthcare personnel, is an important step in both suicide prevention and treatment. We document the adaptation process and establish the validity and reliability of the Attitudes Toward Suicide (ATTS) questionnaire among 262 healthcare personnel in 2 major public hospitals in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The findings indicate that healthcare personnel in Malaysia have unique constructs on suicide attitude, compared with the original study on a Western European sample. The adapted Malay ATTS questionnaire demonstrates adequate reliability and validity for use among healthcare personnel in Malaysia.