Relationship between psychological adjustement ,anxiety,stress, and depression on suicidal ideation and the moderating role of social support among university students in Malaysia

The purpose of the current research is to study on how social support can have a moderated effect towards psychological adjustments, anxiety, stress and depression and if it has a consequential relationship on suicidality rate among university students after the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia, by using online computer administration surveys. A total of 415 university students participated. The psychological instruments used for this current study are International Adjustment Disorder Questionnaire (IADQ), Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and Scale for Suicide Ideation (SSI). By using correlation in Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22 (SPSS 22), the results indicated that psychological adjustment, stress, anxiety, depression, and social support have a statistically significant relationship (p < .001), with negative correlations. There is also evidence of significant relationship between the variables with suicidal ideation. Overall social support can moderate the level and intensity of suicidal ideation (r = - .579, p < .001). A significant simple linear regression equation was found (F(1,413) = 208.144, p < .000) with of .335 when testing the predictability of social support as a moderator against suicidal ideation using regression analysis. Moderation analysis, using SPSS Analysis of Momentum Structures version 28 (SPSS AMOS 28), also predicted that social support can act as moderator (enhancer/buffer) against suicidal ideation. The highest attribute to social support comes from family, followed by friends and significant others (r = -.435, -.416, -.406, p < .001). The researcher concluded that this research has contributed to the theoretical understanding of these complex dynamics of the interrelationships of the variables. This research highlighted the need to explore a broader array of variables to help enhance the understanding of mental health of university students post-pandemic.