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Abstract: Introduction: Health issues often differ from one population to another. Assessing different aspects of the health condition is a vital step toward developing and designing appropriate prevention and treatment programs to reduce health problems in any group or population. This study aimed to assess both the prevalence of stress and the coping mechanisms as well as identify the predictors of stress levels among adolescents in Malaysian orphanages. Methods: Overall, 307 male and female adolescents (aged 13‐18 y old) living in 9 private orphanages located in Klang Valley, Malaysia, participated in this cross‐sectional study. Brief COPE scale and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale‐21 were used as the main instruments in the current study. Results: The results of the current study showed female adolescents and participants with a higher level of education were more likely to experience stress. The results also showed significant differences between boys and girls in using of coping mechanisms in self‐distraction (t = −2.39, P = .01), substance use (t = 2.12, P = .03), use of emotional support (t = −2.70, P = .001), humor (t = 2.28, P = .02), and religion (t = −2.19, P = .02). Denial, venting, religion, humor, planning, and active coping were identified as predictors of stress among participants. Discussion: The results showed a high prevalence of stress and a negative coping pattern among participants. The finding of the current study also showed the urgency of taking immediate action to reduce stress and improve coping methods among Malaysian institutional adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to assess the prevalence and risk factors of depression, anxiety, stress and low self-esteem among institutional Malaysian adolescents. This cross-sectional descriptive study included 287 adolescents aged 12-18 years living in six selected orphan homes. Study's instruments included Socio-demographic questionnaire, validated Malay version of Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The findings revealed that 85.2, 80.1 and 84.7% of participants had depression, anxiety and stress respectively. Females were more likely to be depressed. Furthermore, anxiety was significantly associated with race and age but no significant associations between stress and the demographic factors were found. The study also showed that 70.8% of males and 69.2% of females had low self-esteem and the self-esteem was associated with depression, anxiety and stress.Therefore, mental health problems are very common among adolescents in Malaysian orphanages. Results reveal the urgency of immediate actions to reduce the mental health problems among Malaysian institutional adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the current study was to determine if a life skills-based intervention programme could improve the emotional health, self-esteem and coping skills of Malaysian institutionalised adolescents. This study was a randomized controlled trial with pre-, post- and four-month follow-up tests comprising intervention and control groups which were randomly selected to receive the intervention programme (life skills education) or the placebo education programme (COMBI programme). Overall, 271 adolescents, who experienced a mild to extra severe score in one of the objectives of the DASS21 questionnaire were selected to participate in the study. The findings of this study can be the starting point of continuous, systematic life skills education for Malaysian children and adolescents, and can be used by researchers and educational planners across the country. Trial registration: TCTR20161010003. Registered on: 6-October- 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]