Mental Health among Secondary School Students: Predictive Factor Analysis

Poor mental health impairs an individual's functioning and cognitive processes, reducing their social role and output in society. The study investigated factors that determine mental health predictors among secondary school students in southwestern Nigeria. The study used a correlational-descriptive research approach. A total of 1000 secondary school pupils from southwestern Nigeria were chosen using a multistage sampling procedure. Three study questions were addressed at a 0.05 significance level utilizing frequency distribution, percentage, Pearson product-moment correlation, and multiple regressions. The findings of the study showed that self-esteem (r = .202, p<0.05), self-efficacy (r = .207, p<0.05), social integration (r = .275, p<0.05), gender (r = .138, p<0.05) and parental socioeconomic status (r = .207, p<0.05) have a significant relationship with mental health among secondary school students in southwestern Nigeria. In contrast, age (r = .047, p>0.05) has no significant relationship. All the independent variables jointly accounted for a 10.2% variance in predicting mental health among secondary school students in southwestern Nigeria. Also, self-esteem (β = .182, t = 2.049, p<0.05), self-efficacy (β = 138, t = 2.548, p<0.05), social integration (β = .122, t = 2.751, p<0.05), gender (β = .104, t = 1.944, p<0.05) and parental socioeconomic status (β = .457, t = 3.181, p<0.05) had a relative influence on mental health among secondary school students in southwestern Nigeria, while age (β = .069, t = 1.701, p>0.05) had no relative influence. In conclusion, there should be rehabilitation and counselling services available to students of this category. Trained special educators should be posted to all secondary schools to guide them through transitioning and help them manage stress.