ABSTRACT
In January 2020, a new coronavirus epidemic began in Wuhan, China, and now is spreading globally as a pandemic in March 2020. To date, about 123,498 million cases have been reported worldwide and about 2.71 million deaths were reported. This newly discovered pandemic has majorly impacted many things such as tourism, the economy, and others. Because of this, low-income households (also known as B40) seem to be affected. Through a survey conducted online in the state of Pahang, Malaysia, this study aims to examine the level of depression, anxiety, and stress faced by B40 households. The study extracted data from 128 respondents (N=128) from B40 households around the state by using the DASS-21 online form. The result of the study showed that 31% respondents had moderate depression, 40% had severe depression, and 22% had extremely severe depression. Moreover, 15% respondents had moderate anxiety, 16% had severe anxiety, and 68% had extremely severe anxiety. The result also showed that 31% respondents had moderate stress, 36% had severe stress, and 18% had extremely severe stress. All scores were tabulated from the administration of the Depression, Stress, and Anxiety Scale (DASS-21) inventory. The result showed that the government sector and self-employed groups differed slightly at p<0.051. Regardless of the employment sector within B40 respondents, this study showed that they are prone to have mental health issues especially depression, anxiety, and stress. The limitation of this study is the sample size. So, it is advisable for future studies to increase the sample size so that the data will have a significant value © 2021, Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues. All Rights Reserved.