Influence of Family Instability on the Mental Health and Academic Performance of Adolescents in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Abstract

The study investigated the influence of family instability on adolescents' mental
health and academic performance at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Five
objectives and three hypotheses guided the study. A descriptive survey
research design was utilized to select 420 adolescents using simple random
sampling. A structured questionnaire validated and tested for reliability was
used for data collection. Data collected were analyzed using frequencies ,
percentages, means, standard deviation and chi-square. Findings showed that
more than half (58.1%) of the respondents had a monthly allowance of ₦10,000-
30,000. Findings on types of family instability showed that more than one-third
(33.6%) of the respondents experienced high levels of family instability. More
than half (51.0%) of the respondents had poor mental health status, and over
twenty per cent of them had low academic performance. At p < 0.05 level of
significance, family instability correlated significantly with the mental health
and academic performance of the adolescents. Family instability also correlated
significantly with respondents’ socio-economic characteristics such as monthly
allowance, family area of residence, parents’ educational qualification, housing
type, and household size. The study, therefore, concludes that family instability
significantly influences the mental health and academic performance of
adolescents. It was recommended that the university administration should
provide mental health support services for students to educate them on how to
handle some family-related problems that might be affecting their mental
health and academic performance.