THE IMPACT OF MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

1.1 Introduction

Mental health problems represent a potentially important but relatively unexplored factor in explaining human capital accumulation during college. Mental health is known as a positive source contributing to overall development individually, socially, and economically. Mental health is the ability to make adjustment to the external world also it helps in dealing with many problems. Academic achievement is related to performance outcomes that indicate the performance graph of student's specifically in school, college, and university. Better mental health in students is reflected by healthy family organization, good community and better school environment. Through the various review of studies we are trying to identify the connection between mental health and detailed measures of academic achievement during student's life.

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

In recent years, issues related to mental health are often propaganda in mass media not only in a country and even around the world. Mental health is a way of thinking, feeling and behaviour in a person's daily lives. Regular mental health issues seen among school understudies fuse low certainty, distress, uneasiness, self-mutilation, and inconsequential, indiscreet, and careless practices (Cook et al., 2007; Tayama et al., 2019). Excessive and prolonged stress can be harmful to students’ academic performance and physical and psychological well-being (Beiter et al., 2015).

Students who perceive high levels of stress may often become depressed. Students suffering from anxiety and depression may also be at risk of poor academic performance. Likewise, data from the American College Health Association (2013) reveal that high levels of stress among students interfere with the academic performance and achievements. Conversely, Stupnisky, Perry, Renaud, and Hladkyj (2013) stated that students who exhibit a low level of stress do well academically. During the transition from adolescence to adulthood, the failure to use adaptive coping strategies may further result in stress, anxiety, and depression.

Several institutional and personal factors have been linked with mental health problems of medical students. These include a highly stressful environment competitive- ness, excessive workload, sleep deprivation and peer pres- sure (Pacheco et al., 2017). Furthermore, socio-demographic factors that have been associated with mental health prob- lems among medical students include: being female, younger students and students in the early years of medical school (Coentre et al., 2016).

The most common psychological problems of adolescence are depression and anxiety. While depression is less common during childhood, it increases during the onset of adolescence. During adolescence, depression is experienced mostly short and depending on the certain conditions. Adolescents suffering from depression are sad and broken down. They feel loneliness, but can continue doing their daily chores. However, in deeper cases of depression, adolescents show the symptoms of low self-esteem, selfblame, hopelessness, suicide thoughts, anger, and peevishness. From the bulk of research, it can be inferred that depression and anxiety may be experienced at the same time. It has been declared that depression and anxiety are accompanied with 12 to 75% of the surveys conducted by Eckberg, Pidgeon, & Magyar (2017).

About one-third of the medical students worldwide suffer from depression or depressive symptoms (Adhikari et al., 2017). The adverse outcome of mental health problems among medical students is increasingly becoming a public health burden. Poor mental health is found to be associated with serious thoughts of dropping out of medical school, substance abuse, burnout and suicidal ideation (Adhikari et al., 2017).

Mental health problems affect student’s capacity to organize highly demanding study hours, socialize, and perform academically and this could affect patient care, since empathy and professionalism might be impaired (Pacheco et al., 2017). Most of these studies were conducted in industrialized countries where the learning atmosphere is different and more comfortable than what obtains in the developing countries including Nigeria.

A study on mental health disorders in Nigeria showed that mental health disorders are accorded a very low priority in Nigeria, the level of awareness of the Nigerian public about mental health issues is poor, and the misconceptions regarding mental health have continued to flourish (Suleiman, 2016). This poor attention to mental health may even be worse among adolescents and youths, the category to which most medical students belong. This may be due to paucity of data on mental health problems in our environment.

Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Impact of Mental Health Issues on Students Academic Performance.

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1.3 Statement of Problems

Investigation revealed that increasing interest in positive psychology and the factors that constitute wellness fit well with this type of prevention agenda, but comprehensive models describing the psychological resources that protect college students from anxiety and depression are lacking (Dahlin et al., 2005). Adlaf et al. (2001) found a prominent inverse relationship between year of study and mental health in university students, those at greatest risk being first-year students.

Psychological morbidity in undergraduate students represents a neglected public health problem and holds major implications for campus health services and mental policy-making (Poch et al., 2004; Stewart- Brown et al., 2000). In terms of life quality, understanding the impact of this neglected public health phenomenon on one’s educational attainment and prospective occupational success is very important.

Related to the increasing number of students, who are dismissed from the university because of the low, cumulative grades, as well as some of them who change their academic fields specialty, the idea of this study emerged.

Furthermore, there is undocumented high level of mental health illiteracy and lack of awareness concerning mental health issues among the students in which they prefer traditional medication as opposed to the hospital when treating mental disorders. This has led to the loss of many lives of the patients, escalation of the symptoms while others are taken to the hospital when it is already too late, being left to loiter in the world without anyone to take care of them or being chained in their homes to prevent harm and attacks.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to investigate the Impact of Mental Health Issues on Students Academic Performance in Imo State University (IMSU). In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To examine the prevalence of mental health issues among students
2. To determine the impact of mental health issues on the students’ academic performance
3. To investigate the impact of academic stress on the students mental health
4. To determine the ways in which students can stabilize their mental health

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1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• Is there prevalence of mental health issues among the students?
• Does mental health issue affect the students’ academic performance?
• Does academic stress affects students’ mental health?
• What is the knowledge of the students towards mental health issues?

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1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: There is low prevalence of mental health issues among undergraduate students of Imo State University (IMSU)
• H1: There is high prevalence of mental health issues among undergraduate students of Imo State University (IMSU)

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1.7 Significance of Study

This study will aid the policymakers to formulate better responsive policies that will enable adequate budget allocation, proper staffing and procurement of medical equipment, medical supplies, and school community sensitization. For the academicians, this study highlights on the mental health epidemic among the students of IMSU, emphasizing on the data (knowledge, attitudes and practices for caregivers, traditional healers and health service providers) for further studies in this area.

This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.

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1.8 Scope of Study

The scope of the research is focused on the Impact of Mental Health Issues on Students Academic Performance using undergraduate students of Imo State University (IMSU) as a case study.

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1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Establishment Policies: Establishment policies posed a serious limitation as most staffs are not ready to release information needed for this project work. There were lots of information needed from the staffs of this establishment to enhance the study which took them time to release or they did not release at all for security purposes, hence the scope was reduced.
3. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
4. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
5. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

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1.10 Definition of Terms

Mental Health: Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being.

Depression: A mental health disorder characterized by persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily.