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Influence of Personality and Social Support on the Mental Health of Drug Addicts in Selangor
Influence of Personality and Social Support on the Mental Health of Drug Addicts in Selangor
Lee Jing and Muhammad Asyraf Che Amat
Pertanika Journal of Counsellor Educator and Counselling Psychology(PJOCECP), Volume 2, Issue 1, April 2026
DOI: http://doi.org/10.47836/pjocecp.2.1.05
Keywords: Mental health, personality, social support, drug addicts
Published on: 2026-06-15
Abstract
Abstract
Mental health issues among the people in Malaysia have shown an increase in recent times. It can be said that many of these mental health problems also involve individuals who take drugs. The mental health of drug addicts must also be taken into account. It cannot be denied that there are many factors that affect a person's mental health. Specifically, this research aims to identify the dominant personality traits, levels of perceived social support, and mental health status among drug addicts in Selangor. Furthermore, it investigates the correlational relationships and significant influences of these personality types and social support systems on their overall mental health. This study was conducted using a correlational design. The sampling method used in this study is cluster sampling. This study was conducted in four drug rehabilitation centres in Selangor and a total of 400 sample participants were involved as respondents to the study. This study uses three types of instruments, namely The Malay Version of Mental Health Inventory-18 (MHI-Malay), The Malay Version of Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised Short Form (EPQR-S) and The Malay Version of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS-M) to measure the three variables to be studied. The findings of the study show that the level of mental health of drug addicts in Selangor is at a moderate level. The dominant personality among drug addicts in Selangor has high extraversion, high neuroticism, high psychoticism and a high scale of deception. The level of social support among them is also at a high level. The findings also show that there is a significant relationship between personality and mental health while there is no significant relationship between social support and mental health among drug addicts in Selangor. Based on multiple regression analysis, personality type has a significant influence on the mental health of drug addicts in Selangor. However, social support shows that there is no significant influence on the overall mental health of drug addicts in Selangor. The findings of this study are expected to be used as evidence to help in the process of improving existing rehabilitation programs or drug rehabilitation treatment interventions.
Mental health issues among the people in Malaysia have shown an increase in recent times. It can be said that many of these mental health problems also involve individuals who take drugs. The mental health of drug addicts must also be taken into account. It cannot be denied that there are many factors that affect a person's mental health. Specifically, this research aims to identify the dominant personality traits, levels of perceived social support, and mental health status among drug addicts in Selangor. Furthermore, it investigates the correlational relationships and significant influences of these personality types and social support systems on their overall mental health. This study was conducted using a correlational design. The sampling method used in this study is cluster sampling. This study was conducted in four drug rehabilitation centres in Selangor and a total of 400 sample participants were involved as respondents to the study. This study uses three types of instruments, namely The Malay Version of Mental Health Inventory-18 (MHI-Malay), The Malay Version of Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised Short Form (EPQR-S) and The Malay Version of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS-M) to measure the three variables to be studied. The findings of the study show that the level of mental health of drug addicts in Selangor is at a moderate level. The dominant personality among drug addicts in Selangor has high extraversion, high neuroticism, high psychoticism and a high scale of deception. The level of social support among them is also at a high level. The findings also show that there is a significant relationship between personality and mental health while there is no significant relationship between social support and mental health among drug addicts in Selangor. Based on multiple regression analysis, personality type has a significant influence on the mental health of drug addicts in Selangor. However, social support shows that there is no significant influence on the overall mental health of drug addicts in Selangor. The findings of this study are expected to be used as evidence to help in the process of improving existing rehabilitation programs or drug rehabilitation treatment interventions.
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