Negative feedback and stress blamed
Published on: Tuesday, December 01, 2015
PETALING JAYA: Negative feedback and stress are among the reasons students commit suicide according to psychologists.They also stressed the need for a proper support system so that troubled youngsters would have someone to turn to.Universiti Malaya's Education Psychology and Counselling Department Assoc Prof Dr Mariani Md Nor said suicide was common among those who did not enjoy good moral support.
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"This even applies to adults. When we don't have moral support and constantly receive negative feedback resulting in (loss of) friends, it will cause depression," she said.The death of Hon Ye, a former child actor in a local Chinese-language television drama, has raised the ugly spectre of the authorities having done too little to ease examination stress on students which has led to suicides over the years. Hon was found hanging with a necktie around his neck tied to a window in his room at the family apartment in Taman Jinjang after he failed to satisfactorily answer the Additional Mathematics I paper.He had apparently told his teacher that he could not answer the questions in the Additional Mathematics paper and had gone home even after she advised him to stay.
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His failure to show up at school in the afternoon for the Additional Mathematics II paper led family members to his where they made the gruesome discovery.She said it was possible that Hon Ye believed he could have answered the examination questions well but when he could not do so, it upset him.
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"He did not voice it out to his family and friends and perhaps he took the shortcut by committing suicide," she said."When depression kicks in and there is no support or one does not voice it out, the person seeking help is unable to share their views and obtain feedback. This is when they rather face death."Ann Ding Choong Ai, a community counsellor, said students were stressed from the pressure they faced, especially during examinations."This is more evident among top scorers who may feel pressured to succeed and to keep up with the high expectations set by those around him or her," Ding said."The pressure Hon Ye may have faced during examinations could have made him more tensed and react to minor mistakes in extreme ways."Counsellor and senior lecturer Anasuya Jegathevi Jegathesan said there were many other factors besides exam stress that could push one to end his or her life."It could be mental illness or chemical imbalances in the brain," she said. "It may have been an accidental death, where one may not have the intention to die but was trying to make a statement instead. This is evident among teenagers who hope someone will come and save them in time but unfortunately it does not happen."She also suggested that other forms of stress could have contributed Hon Ye's death."He could have been dealing with bullying, family pressure or stress at school that have accumulated for a long time," she said."Suicide is not caused by one factor but an accumulation of several factors leading one taking his or her own life."Meanwhile, education authorities are shocked over the possibility that examination pressure may have led the straight As student to suicide.Deputy Education Minister Chong Sin Woon said the incident would prompt the ministry to immediately address the issue of depression among students.The death of one of the top 10 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia students at SMK Raja Abdullah, has shattered his mother's dreams of success for her only son. He has an older sister.Chong said the incident reflected the core problem in the system of over emphasis on examination results."Society, including parents and teachers are too focused on a child's A's rather than education as a whole. Even if they don't get good results, I'm sure they have talent in other areas," he said.Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said the ministry was saddened by Hon's death."We are upset by this news. Let's allow the police to explain whet happened after they had conducted their investigations," he said.Hon Ye may have taken his life after finding out he would never achieve his burning desire to earn a scholarship to university after the Additional Mathematics 1 paper last Tuesday proved just too tough for him. The 17-year-old, described as nothing short of brilliant by teachers and friends, was also probably dejected that this would mean placing an additional burden on his mother who was a single parent.Relatives said he was a responsible son who was hoping to ease the burden of his mother who was supporting him and his older sister."He knew that his mother who works as a promoter in a shopping mall would have had to struggle to put him through university,' a relative said.The relative said although his mother had not pressured him to perform, he had taken it upon himself to ensure that he did well to qualify for the scholarship. "We think he was terribly depressed when he was unable to finish the paper on Tuesday," he said. An uncle, met at Selayang Hospital where Hon Ye's body has been sent for a post mortem, said his nephew had always been a bright student. "Having scored nine As and one B in the SPM trial examination, he was probably too stuck on improving his result."He might have put too much pressure on himself to perform as he wanted straight As in his SPM," he said. He said Hon's mother was heartbroken by the loss of her son on whom she had great confidence to do well in life.The wait at the hospital where the body had been taken for an autopsy proved too painful as she fainted several times.Hon was cremated at the Kepong crematorium in Taman Desajaya. Students of SMK Raja Abdullah were also in shock as Hon Ye was well-liked for his cheerfulness.A classmate, who requested anonymity, said Hon arrived five minutes late for the Additional Mathematics Paper 1 on Tuesday which was unusual as he was always punctual. "We never thought he was so depressed to wanting to take his own life."He told the teacher he wanted to go home and just left halfway during the exam. "Later, when some of his friends called him out for lunch, he declined their invitation. The next thing we knew, he had hung himself," she said. The classmate said Hon was a hardworking student and had scored well in previous examinations."You would never see him without his books. He would often stay alone in the classroom to study," she said. "Some days we see him coming to school looking exhausted. According to him, it was because he studied late into the night."Another friend said Hon had scored straight A's in the PMR examination.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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