Establishing hysteria profiling among Malay students using clinical psychology approach

Malaysians frequently use the term hysteria to describe an illness caused by a subtle disturbance or ghost disturbance. This stems from the Malays' belief that it is the otherworldly beings that disturb them. The main purpose of this study is to establish a hysteria profiling among Malay students using clinical psychology approach. A qualitative approach, psychological tests, and triangulation method were used for this study, in which a total of 50 hysteria students from four different schools and 10 specific hysteria students were selected for in-depth interview. The psychological tests were DASS-21 Test and Drawing Test. Snow ball sampling was used to select young girls in high schools who experienced mass hysteria. For the 50 general respondents, the psychological test was used. For the specific 10 respondents selected from the 50 respondents after they did the psychological tests, and the data was then triangulated with in-depth interview. The findings showed that the secondary school girls in Kelantan experienced both physical and psychological symptoms during mass hysteria episodes and that it had a contagious effect. Additionally, the victims and society will benefit from this research by learning the truth about hysteria. In addition, there are other factors that contributed to their panic. Mass hysteria episodes among Kelantan schools’ students are affected by psychological factor, family background, and culture and religious reasons because the respondents were from a typical underdeveloped traditional state. All in all, the objectives were reached by the psychological tests and interview. This shows that the hysteria students are having mental health problems but they were denied treatment because of supernatural beliefs. The findings of the study may guide health workers in Kelantan to manage victims of mass hysteria appropriately and to diagnose the episodes timely. If mass hysteria in the Kelantan setting is better understood, teachers can be empowered through health education to recognise mass hysteria outbreaks in schools early, handle patients and spectators more effectively, and refer victims to medical professionals for treatment.