MENTAL HEALTH AND ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN EDO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study evaluated the relationship between mental health and achievement motivation among Edo State secondary school students. The study tested one research question and one hypothesis. The research was conducted using a correlational research approach. All 12,803 Senior Secondary School (SSS) students at public Senior Secondary Schools in the State were included in the population. The study drew a sample of 300 individuals (100 per Senatorial District), using the purposive random sampling approach. Mental Health Scale (MHS) developed by Lukat, Margraf, Lutz, William and Becker (2016) and Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) developed by Utvaer and Haugen (2016) were used in the study. The scale had a Cronbach reliability alpha (a) of 0.78 and 0.84 for MHS and AMS respectively. The mean and standard deviation was used to analyse the research question, while the hypothesis was tested with the Pearson's product moment correlation technique. The result showed that mental health students' achievement motivation in secondary schools in Edo State was inversely and significantly correlated (r = 0.756, p < 0.05). It was, therefore, recommended that practicing counsellors, counsellors' educators, student counsellors and professional school counsellors, should make an effort at developing an intervention plan to identify students with mental health challenges and provide them with relevant Counselling Service
needed to promote achievement motivation.