Depression, anxiety, and coping strategies before and after a mental health programme for housewives in Malaysia: a pre- and post-intervention study

Abstract Background Housewives in Malaysia face unique challenges that predispose them to mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, which are significantly affected by coping mechanisms. The SURI-PERMAI programme was developed as a psychoeducation intervention to enhance coping strategies and improve mental health outcomes among housewives in Malaysia. This study investigated depression, anxiety, and types of coping strategies (problem-based, emotion-based, and avoidant coping) among participants pre- and post-intervention. Results A total of 52 participants completed baseline assessments, with 51 completing the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced questionnaires 16 weeks later. There was a significant reduction in depression among study participants from 42.3% pre-intervention to 7.7% post-intervention ( p < 0.001). A significant reduction in anxiety among participants was found from 19.2% pre-intervention to 5.8% post-intervention ( p < 0.05). There was also a significant reduction in the severity of depression ( p < 0.001) and anxiety ( p < 0.01) after the intervention. Findings showed significant improvement in the mean scores for problem-focused coping strategies ( p < 0.05) after the intervention. Mean scores for emotion-based coping improved and avoidant coping reduced after the intervention; however, these findings were not significant ( p > 0.05). Conclusions These results suggest that the SURI-PERMAI programme was able to reduce depression and anxiety among housewives and offers benefits for improving coping mechanisms. Future research should include larger sample sizes and control groups for more significant and impactful findings.