Psychosocial support, stress coping strategies, and mental health as determinants of academic achievement among students in selected universities, Kenya
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Date
2024-01
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Kenyatta University
Abstract
Most research studies on academic achievement have focused on secondary students with scanty empirical evidence of studies done on determinants of academic achievement
among students in the university. This study tried to establish whether psychosocial support, stress coping strategies, and mental health are determinants of academic
achievement among students in Kenyan universities. The objectives of the research aimed at establishing whether the three variables namely; psychosocial support, stress coping
strategies and mental health are determinants of academic achievement among students in the Kenyan universities. Further, the study sought to establish gender differences in terms
of psychosocial support, stress coping strategies, mental health and academic achievement among female and male students in Kenyan universities. The objectives of
the study delimited the review of literature related to the research. Psychosocial Theory of Development by Erik Erikson and Stress Theory by Hans Selye were used. The
research was designed as a Cross-Sectional Analytical research. The population targeted was 2nd and 3rdyear students in 4 purposively selected universities located in different
Counties in Kenya. The selection of 340 students who took part in the research was done by stratified sampling whereas simple random sampling was deployed to pick 80 peer
counsellors. The study purposively sampled one dean of students and one Student counsellor from each of the sampled universities. Therefore, 4 deans of students and 4
student counsellors participated in the study. The study sample had a total of 428 participants. A students‘ questionnaire, interview schedules for Deans of students and
Student counsellors and a Focus Group Discussion guide for peer counsellors were used to collect data. The pilot study was done prior to commencement of the actual study, to
confirm the validity and the reliability of the instruments of data collection. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 to obtain
inferential and descriptive statistics. Percentages, frequency tables, mean, maximum and minimum scores, skewness and kurtosis were used to summarize the descriptive statistics
whereas inferential statistics were computed using independent t-test, ANOVA, path analysis and Structural Equation Modelling. Qualitative data was thematic and aligned
with the research‘s objectives. The research findings indicated that students relied more on family members, friends, and peer counsellors for psychosocial support. Listening to
music, spending time with friends, and surfing the internet were the most frequently used stress coping strategies. Findings obtained from Path model revealed that psychosocial
support directly impacted GPA scores. Stress coping strategies had no effect on GPA scores but indirectly effected GPA scores through mental health. Therefore, psychosocial
support and mental health are significant determinants of academic achievement among students in the university. A significant relationship was found between psychosocial
support, and gender but none with stress coping strategies. Male respondents recorded higher levels of stress, depression and anxiety when compared to their female
counterparts. It is hoped that the findings of this study will help policymakers and stakeholders to improve psychosocial support services, recreational facilities for stress
mitigation, and mental health awareness to ensure good academic achievement among university students.
Description
A research thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Psychology in the School of Education and Lifelong Learning, Kenyatta University January, January 2024
Supervisors. Dr. Edward Kigen and Prof. Theresia Kinai