INFLUENCE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES ON MENTAL HEALTH OF POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS IN SOUTH-SOUTH, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the extent to which psychological variables influence mental health among postgraduate students in South-South Nigeria. One research question and one null hypothesis guided the study. A correlational research design was adopted. The sample comprised 1,167 postgraduate students (671 males and 496 females) selected through multistage sampling from a population of 5,906 postgraduate students in five federal universities in South-South Nigeria. Two researcher-developed instruments, Psychological Variables Scale (PVS) and Postgraduate Student Mental Health Questionnaire (PSMHQ), were validated by experts in clinical psychology, counselling, and measurement and evaluation. The reliability of the instruments was established using Cronbach Alpha, yielding coef icients of 0.92 and 0.88 for PVS and PSMHQ respectively. Data were analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation to answer the research question and Multiple Regression Analysis to test the null hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed a significant joint influence of psychological variables (anxiety, depression, self-esteem and confidence, relationship and family issues, suicidal thoughts, and feelings of anger) on mental health among postgraduate students, accounting for 99.8% of the variance in mental health. The study concludes that psychological variables are strong predictors of mental health among postgraduate students. It is recommended that universities in South-South Nigeria should establish functional counselling centres, employ professional mental health counsellors, and implement regular psychological assessment and intervention programmes to improve students’ mental health and academic well-being.