Int. J. Social. Stud.

02 (1)
2022. 09-13

International Journal of
Social Studies
ISSN: 2958-602X (Print), 2958-6038 (Online)

Research Article
Exploring the Mental Health Challenges of
Secondary School Students in District Faisalabad:
A Psychosocial Analysis

Article History Muhammad A. Aslam, Ijaz Ashraf*, Um e Afifa, Muhammad Zulqurnain

Received: April 19, 2022 Institute of Agricultural Extension, Education and Rural Development, University of
Accepted: May 27, 2022 Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan.
Published: June 15, 2022 *Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract
Health and well being of the students is deemed important especially in
achieving the growth, development and desired goals. This study was focused
on assessment of the psychological problems faced by the secondary school
students in district Faisalabad. Total 150 randomly chosen teachers were
interviewed on a structured questionnaire. The results of the study indicated
that family issues, self-consciousness, teachers’ behavior, poor sleep
patterns, and peer behavior were the major reasons as perceived by the
respondents promoting psychological problems among students. Fear of
insult, economic burden and fear of punishment were the least ranked
factors. Teachers, behavior, cultural differences, limited exposure followed
by the fear of failure could have adverse impacts on students. Therefore,
students need counselling and teachers should play their role in developing
the psychological problems of the students.

Keywords: Income diversification, Credit constraints, Rural Nigeria,

Beneficiaries.

Introduction
Mental irregularities that manifest in enduring patterns of behaviour are
known as psychological illnesses, or mental disorders, and they can
significantly interfere with your day-to-day work and life. When an individual
Copyright: © 2022 by the faces prolonged mental, cognitive, or behavioral problems, they may suffer
authors. Licensee Roots Press,
Islamabad Pakistan.
from multiple psychological issues. In such cases, a psychological assessment
can be useful, followed by an analytical psychological process. (Hunt and
This article is an open access Eisenberg, 2010).
article distributed under the Psychological problems can obstruct schooling in a variety of ways. For
terms and conditions of the starters, the stigma attached to psychological illnesses prevents many kids
Creative Commons Attribution
(CC BY) license from self-identifying and, as a result, obtaining the assistance they require.
(https://creativecommons.org/lice Additionally, people with psychological illnesses frequently take medications
nses that might cause adverse symptoms including restlessness, exhaustion, or
/by/4.0/). excessive thirst (Flett and Hewitt, 2013).
Psychological issues are an unavoidable part of every person's life.
Individuals typically experience psychological issues at work, in maintaining
relationships, in health issues, and when they feel overwhelmed due to
various factors such as workload, inability to obtain adequate sleep,
nutrition, and so on. When individuals' psychological problems have a
significant impact on them, it is critical that they seek help. Individuals may
experience depression, stress, or anxiety as a result of psychological issues.
Students face psychological issues in educational institutions of all levels

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(Debbarma and
Umadevi, 2019).

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Psychological difficulties and depression have a negative impact on academic
and social engagement in ordinary student life. Depressive illnesses cause
poor mood, impaired cognitive function, a lack of coping and interest in
others, and a loss of vitality (Andrews and Wilding, 2004). In turn, stress and
anxiety frequently weaken memory and focus, making it more difficult to
learn new information and manage with different tests. This frequently
reinforces feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy, and for many individuals,
it perpetuates a vicious spiral of worry and depression (Nedregard and
Olsen, 2014).
In the scientific literature of sociology, epidemiology, and social psychology,
an inverse association between psychological health and educational
achievement is a well-known phenomenon (Agnafors et al., 2016). Despite
over a century of research, no agreement has been achieved on how the
relationship forms and persists. Several studies have shown that educational
achievement has an effect on mental health, and there is also evidence that
mental health issues have an impact on educational attainment (Esch et al.,
2014).

Methodology
District Faisalabad have 6 tehsils in total i.e., Chak Jhumra, Faisalabad
Sadar, Faisalabad City, Samundri, Tandlianwala and Jaranwala. Taking time
and resources into account this study was confined to one tehsil. Thus, tehsil
Faisalabad Sadar was selected purposively. All the teachers teaching in
secondary schools were considered as the population of study. Selected
tehsils have 49 male secondary schools with total number 245 teachers.
Thus, 245 teachers were the population. Sample size of 150 teachers was
drawn using online sample size calculator www.surveysystem.com keeping
confidence interval 5 and confidence level 95%. Respondents were selected
at random. Data were collected using questionnaire, which was reliable and
valid. Collected data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS).

Result and Discussions

Table 1. Perceived reasons of psychological problems among students.
Mean S.D WS Rank order
Family issues 3.33 0.75 500 1
Self-Consciousness 3.2 0.86 480 2
Teachers’ rude behavior 3.19 0.79 478 3
Poor sleep patterns 3.16 1.07 474 4
Peers’ behavior 3.13 1.05 469 5
Cultural differences 3.11 1.18 467 6
Clashes of parents 3.11 0.96 466 7
Limited Exposure 3.08 1 462 8
Lack of parents’ attention 3.00 0.91 450 9
Fear of failure 2.99 1.26 448 10
Fear of insult 2.98 1.31 447 11
Economic Burden 2.86 0.82 429 12
Fear of punishment 2.79 1.03 418 13
Any kind of superiority complex 2.73 0.94 409 14

In the above table the distribution and the descriptive statistic about What
kind social and behavioral problem effects the learning ability where mean,
standard deviation and weighted score are discussed in the above table.
"Depress behavior" is rank ordered on 1st position and it shows that the
responses fall between Neutral to agree, but it is tending towards to agree
with mean value 3.31. At the 2nd ranked number respondents said about
"Mood swings" and it is tending to agree with mean value 3.19. "Attention

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Seeking behavior " is rank ordered on 3rd position and it shows that the
responses fall between

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Neutral to agree, but it is tending towards to agree with mean value 3.19. At
the 2nd ranked number respondents said about "Forget the actual concept of
lesson" and it is tending to agree with mean value 3.1. According to the
ranking, on the fifth position the respondents said about that Refuse to
cooperate A" and it is tending towards to agree with mean value
3.08. At the 6th ranked number, the respondents said about "Bad behavior
toward peers/teachers" and it is tending to agree with mean value 2.93.
"Poor attitude toward work" is in rank ordered 7th Position and indicates that
the replies range from Neutral to Agree, with a tendency to agree with mean
value 2.87. "Aggressiveness “ is rank ordered on 8th position and it shows
that the responses fall between Neutral to agree, but it is tending towards to
agree with mean value 2.85. "Remain confused in class" is rank ordered on
9th position and it shows that the responses fall between Neutral to agree,
but it is tending towards to agree with mean value 2.77. "Shying behavior " is
rank ordered on 10th position and it shows that the responses fall between
Neutral to agree, but it is tending towards to agree with mean value 2.72.
Anti-social behavior is rank ordered on 11th position and it shows that the
responses fall between Neutral to agree, but it is tending towards to agree
with mean values 2.67. Obsessives is rank ordered on 12th position and it
shows that the responses fall between Neutral to agree, but it is tending
towards to agree with mean values 2.62. Impaired Social Interaction is Rank
ordered on 13th position and it shows that the responses fall between
Neutral to agree, but it is tending towards to agree with mean values 2.61.
Peer concentrations is Rank ordered on 14th position and it shows that the
responses fall between Neutral to agree, but it is tending towards to agree
with mean values 2.58.

Discussion
Major findings of this study indicate that family issues, teachers’ rude
behavior, cultural differences, limited exposure followed by the fear of failure
were other problems having adverse impacts on students were prominent
factor affecting the psychology of students. were the prominent factors
behind the psychological problems as perceived by the students. The
negative effects of family problems can harm the growth and academic
performance of students. As a result, the study recommends that students
receive counselling, and teachers should assist in addressing their
psychological concerns. According to Cleary and colleagues (2011), there has
been a consistent increase in the number of students with psychological
disabilities enrolling in postsecondary institutions over the last decade.
Although the exact percentage of such students is unknown, there is an
emerging body of evidence indicating a rising trend. Furthermore, the
incidence rate of students having psychological disorders entering higher
education institutions is likely to exceed that of children with learning
disabilities and attention deficit disorder coupled. O'Neill et al. (2018)
reported that exceptionally high frequency of mental health disorders among
university students demonstrates that this is an at-risk demographic. The
findings emphasize the need of widespread early intervention in preventing
the development of serious mental disease in university students. While
student mental health is recognized globally as a significant public health
issue, additional epidemiological data that allows for comparison with
general population statistics are required.
Mundia (2011) discussed that mental health problems were predicted to
affect 19.2% of the population, with 67.4% experiencing subsyndromal
symptoms. These rates were much greater than those observed in the overall
population. Disability and worse academic attainment were linked to
psychological discomfort. Full-time status, financial hardship, being between
the ages of 18 and 34, being female, and being in a later undergraduate year
of their degree were all predictors of distress. Salzer (2012) summarized that

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there is a link between psychological problems and academic self-efficacy, but
they make no conclusions

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concerning causality. In investigating the link between psychosocial
characteristics, study skills, and educational performances, they highlight
the scarcity of empirical studies in higher education that combine sociology
education research with psychological theory.
Scherer (2009) proposed a model that builds on Lazarus' transactional model
of psychological evaluation. While Lazarus' model proposes two levels of
evaluation (primary and secondary), Scherer's model suggests that four
specific evaluations occur in response to a situation. These four categorical
appraisals include the direct impact or importance of a situation to a person,
the short-term and long-term outcomes of a situation on a person's goals, the
perceived ability to cope with the outcomes of a situation, and how the
situation is perceived to affect a person's standards and self-concept.

Conclusion and Policy Recommendations

This study found that family issues were the prominent factors behind the
psychological problems as perceived by the students. The family issues had
adverse impacts on the development and even on the academic performance
of the students. Teachers, rude behavior, cultural differences, limited
exposure followed by the fear of failure were other problems having adverse
impacts on students. This study concludes that students need counselling and
teachers should play their role in developing the psychological problems of
the students.

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