The findings of a survey, conducted by the Macau Economic and Livelihood Alliance, show that overall the mental health of local residents is “good”, with 4 to 5 percent, however, “likely” to suffer from “major depression and major anxiety”.
The alliance includes directly-elected lawmaker Carmen Lo Choi In of the Macau-Guangdong Union, a local ICBC executive.
The survey entitled “Report on Macau Residents’ Mental Health”, which was released by five representatives of the group, including Chairwoman Lao Ka U and President Ho Kam Meng, at their office on Avenida da Amizade on Friday, aimed to gain insight into the level of anxiety and depression among local residents and to come up with “valuable suggestions” concerning the government’s current policies and measures benefitting the public.
The group launched the survey between mid-December last year and February this year, against the backdrop of residents’ “stress response” to COVID-19 and mental health effects caused by Macau’s structural unemployment. A total of 1,302 valid questionnaires were collected from local residents randomly in the street and online, as well as through interviews, according to the press conference.
According to the findings, respondents aged 12 to 17 have a “higher risk of depression”, while those aged 45 to 64 are “more likely to be anxious”. The findings noted that respondents who are unemployed, underemployed and housewives are at “higher risk of anxiety and depression”, while self-employed respondents are at “significant risk of anxiety”.
On the whole, according to the survey, the overall mental health of Macau residents is “good” but, at the same time, some potential psychological risks have been discovered by the survey, indicating that more attention should be paid to residents’ physical and mental health, especially to teach them how to relieve anxiety and uneasiness, and reduce pressure.
In order to increase local people’s income and reduce their mental health risks, the group’s representatives urged the government to promote a series of service industries such as tourism, catering, accommodation and ticketing in the short term, based on the development of traditional industries such as exhibitions and conventions as well as sport and culture.
Considering the results of the survey indicate that the unemployed, underemployed and homemakers are at a higher risk of anxiety and depression, the representatives urged the government to continuously strengthen residents’ mental health education, while improving the public’s knowledge of mental health as previous studies have shown that people who experience anxiety or depression are less likely to seek or receive mental health support.
The representatives also urged the government to pay more attention to the role of housewives, conduct in-depth research on this group, gain insight into their psychological characteristics and mental health status, clarify the main sources of pressure they face, and propose psychological service programmes to reduce the group’s psychological pressure, in the hope of creating a positive family atmosphere.
Five representatives of the Macau Economic and Livelihood Alliance, including its Chairwoman Lao Ka U (third from left) and President Ho Kam Meng (fourth from left), pose during Friday’s press conference at the group’s office on Avenida da Amizade. – Photo courtesy of TDM
