Emotional Regulation and Mental Health-Related Help-Seeking Behaviours Among UNIMAS Nursing Students
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UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK
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Emotional regulation plays a crucial role in how individuals manage stress and respond to emotional challenges, particularly in demanding academic environments such as nursing education. Among nursing students, understanding how emotional regulation influences mental health-related help-seeking behaviours is essential for promoting psychological well-being. Despite increased awareness of mental health issues in higher education, there is limited research exploring this relationship within the Malaysian context. This study aimed to (1) identify the prevalence of emotional regulation strategies, (2) assess the level of mental health-related help-seeking behaviours, and (3) examine the relationship between emotional regulation and help-seeking behaviours among undergraduate nursing students at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).This cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted among 163 undergraduate nursing students selected through simple random sampling. Data were collected using a structured online questionnaire that comprised sociodemographic items, including the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) and the General Help-Seeking Questionnaire (GHSQ). Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS Version 27, with descriptive statistics and independent samples t-tests. The findings indicated that students reported higher use of cognitive reappraisal (M = 34.1, SD = 5.4) compared to expressive suppression (M = 18.8, SD = 4.7). Although nearly half of the students (51.5%) reported low levels of help-seeking, no significant differences were found in emotional regulation strategies between students with low and high help-seeking levels (p > 0.05), indicating that whether students regulate their emotions does not strongly influence their likelihood of seeking help. Informal sources such as intimate partners, parents, and friends were the most preferred for support. In conclusion, while UNIMAS nursing students demonstrated a greater use of adaptive emotional regulation strategies (Cognitive vi Reappraisal), these did not significantly influence their help-seeking behaviours. This suggests other factors, such as stigma or cultural norms, may play a more substantial role in determining whether students seek support for mental health issues.