Evaluating the Clothing Interest and Mental Health of Undergraduate Students in the University of Nigeria

Abstract

The study determined the relationship between clothing interest and undergraduates' mental health at the University of Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional research design was employed for the study. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 696
undergraduates from five faculties in the university. Three specific objectives guided this study. Clothing Interest Questionnaire and Mental Health Continuum short form were used to collect data. The instruments were validated by three lecturers in the Department of Home Science and Management, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The instruments were reliable with Cronbach alpha values of 0.78 and 0.86 respectively. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 23.0. Frequency, percentage, and Chi-square were used for data analysis. Results showed that 61.5%of the respondents had an interest in clothes that make them unique, 54.6% were interested in clothing for appearance enhancement, 54.3% had an interest in clothing for experimenting, 59.1% had interest in clothing for security, and 65.7% of the respondents had an interest in clothing that conforms to fashion in vogue. The respondents could belong to more than one clothing interest category. A greater proportion (69.5%) of the respondents had poor mental health. The finding showed that clothing interests for Security (χ2 = 15.49, p = .000) and Uniqueness (χ2 = 12.0, p = .002) were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with positive mental health. Clothing interests in appearance, experimenting, security, and fashion were not associated with mental health (p≥0.05). Although the mental health of the respondents was generally suboptimal, it was not mostly associated with their clothing interests. Mental health services such as counseling services and support groups should be made readily available to the students.