Scientific interest in student’s mental health experiences has been increasing in the last years due to their influence on students’ learning processes, academic performance, and recently, the suicidal news of a student at a private university due to her mental health condition in Lahore Punjab, Pakistan, captured public attention. That incident also shifted researchers and scholars’ attention on the much underexplored and tabooed sphere of the broader public health domain. Hence, the current study aimed to explore the relationship between mental health problems and Pakistani university students’ academic performance. Participants were 540 senior semester students within the age range of 20–35 years taken from public and private institutes of Pakistan’s major cities, including Lahore, Islamabad, and Peshawar. Descriptive and inferential statistics was employed for data analysis. Pearson Product Moment Correlation, Hierarchical Regression analysis, and Independent sample
The academic performance of university students has been a great interest among academicians. Students’ academic performances become more critical as they wish to enter different professions. Policymakers impart recommendations for the improvement of the teaching systems based on students’ academic performance. Academicians and researchers worldwide are searching for the solution to an epidemic mental health problem. Getting admission into a university entirely changes one’s life. The students of universities are emotionally and intellectually charged, and there is considerable stress on students to meet the academic deadlines and to adjust themselves in the competitive environment [
Mental health is defined as a state of harmony among emotional, social, and psychological well-being [
The literature widely recognized that students who had mental difficulties or disabilities, either treated or untreated, experience lower grade point average (GPAs) and more drop out than other students [
Most of the research related to university students pay attention to mental disorders, not mental problems, as university life is a transitory time where many students experience mental issues that do not meet the full mental illness criteria [
The other common obstacle in getting proper help is normalizing stress and considering it expected, which requires no support [
Regular mental health issues seen among school understudies fuse low certainty, distress, uneasiness, self-mutilation, and inconsequential, indiscreet, and careless practices [
Students’ lack of personal effect and time is also one reason for not seeking mental health support. They have a perception of not enough time for themselves. Students are not taught management skills in school and college life that’s why they are not able to cope with the independence and autonomy that a university life offers, which resulted in mental health problems. Another problem is the knowledge of having a support system and help. The students, who identify their problems and overcome their fear of stigmatization, usually do not have the experience about support availability [
There is a dearth of systematic research in Pakistan to assess the magnitude and burden of mental health problems experienced by university students. The consequences of mental health problems in the form of poor academic performance are primarily underexplored. Competitive environment, lack of understanding about mental health, and unstable socio-economic conditions make students more susceptible to mental health issues [
Along with the stigma of mental health, there is a lack of mental health services, making this problem severe among students, especially university students [
The transitions of Pakistani students from college to university are similar to those in the international settings. However, in some cases, the setting is different due to country’s education system and historical background as a post-colonial nation. The parallel Urdu and English medium of instruction and private/government education system play a significant role in shaping the transition from college to university. Many public health campaigns are run for awareness purposes in universities of Pakistan, but the researchers neglect mental health problems; therefore, the students lack knowledge regarding mental health problem.
Social scientists and researchers focus on life transitions, and they provide insights into life-changing transition stages in individual’s life where adulthood is the period marked with challenges accompanied with multiple transitions, including university life, the formation of new relationships, adjustment to new environmental and culture thus growing into a fully functioning individual of the society at large. This phase of life marked with gradual and consistent changes is much explored in developed countries such as the United States and Europe. However, it still needs to be explored in other developing nations like Pakistan et al. [
Different studies discussed the various important aspects of the gender role and academic performances [
In conclusion, the literature related to the university students’ mental health concerns and academic performance reflects that students expect and experience stress; their family system, economic condition, realization of the impact of stress, isolation, a transition of life, and grown independence affect their academic performance. This study’s main objective is to explore the association between mental health problems and the academic performance of Pakistani University students. This study contributes to the existing literature in several ways. First, the review uses other vital factors, including mental health problems, to investigate students’ academic performance determinants. Moreover, this study contributes to the existing literature using a comprehensive Mental Health Continuum (MHC-SF), Keyes [ Mental health problems (emotional, psychological, social well-being) likely to be negatively related to the academic performance of the Pakistani University students. There are likely to be gender differences in mental health problems and academic performance in Pakistani university students.
This study uses a multistage sampling technique. In the first stage, three major cities of Pakistan, including Lahore, Islamabad, and Peshawar, were selected. In the second stage, senior semester students were selected. The actual sample size (n) will be calculated after identifying the target areas. The following formula will be used, and sample size n and margin of error E are given by
N is the population size, r is the fraction of responses that we are interested in, and Z(c/100) is the critical value for the confidence level c. The calculation is based on the Normal distribution. Based on the formula mentioned above, initially, 600 participants were recruited, out of which 40 participants refused to participate and give their consent. In comparison, 20 participants incompletely filled the survey, so these were not included in the final result compilation procedure, thus making an overall response rate of 83% (540). In a total of 540 samples, 61.2% (331) male students and 38.8% (209) female students were selected. The students’ age ranged between 20 and 35 years (M = 13.7, SD = 1.2). Participants are from both the public and private sectors of universities (75.7% and 24.3%, respectively) and different backgrounds (28.2% rural and 71.8% urban).
To measure university students’ mental health and academic performance, Mental Health Continuum (MHC-SF), Keyes [
Data were collected using a self-administered survey questionnaire which comprised initial demographic information questions, any physical impairment history of any mental illness in the family, and active use of psychoactive drugs, etc. along with Mental Health Continuum (MHC-SF), Keyes [
The researcher obtained approval to carry out the research from the Ethics Committee of the targeted Universities. The study abided by the ethical rules and guidelines stipulated by the Universities. In order to keep confidentiality, no names have been used in this study during the data analysis process or discussion of the findings. The researcher ensures that the rights, privacy, and confidentiality of the participants are protected and respected. Participation in the study was voluntarily filled the questionnaire.
Data were then added to IBM SPSS-23 for further data analysis. Moreover, after the initial screening of the data for some missing values and outliers, descriptive statistics for the sample characteristics and the study variables were computed, followed by the establishment of reliability statistics for the used measures, respectively. Furthermore, in order to test the hypothesis of the study, inferential statistics will be employed for data analysis. Pearson Product Moment Correlation, Hierarchical Regression analysis, and Independent sample
The regression model applied in this study was as follows:
where FT is the family type; FI means family income; MS stands for marital status; DEP stands for the number of dependents; FR is the number of friends, LT stands for leisure time, MI means mental illness, PI stands for physical illness, UD means the use of drugs and MHP stands for mental health problems. CGPA is the dependent variable and stands for cumulative Grade point average, representing students’ academic performance. These variables were selected based on pre-testing and sensitivity analysis. Based on the existing literature on academic performance, the mental health problem variable’s expected sign is negative.
Obs | Minimum | Maximum | Mean | Std. deviation | |
Mental health problem | 540 | 4.00 | 33.14 | 17.1458 | 5.55427 |
Academic performance | 540 | 1.00 | 12.20 | 5.3389 | 1.96342 |
In
Correlations | |||
---|---|---|---|
Academic performance | Mental health problem | ||
Academic performance | Pearson Correlation | 1 | −0.085* |
Sig. (2-tailed) | 0.048 | ||
N | 540 | 540 | |
Mental health problem | Pearson Correlation | −0.085* | 1 |
Sig. (2-tailed) | 0.048 | ||
N | 540 | 540 |
Note: *Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
In
Group statistics | Levene’s test for equality of variances | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gender | Obs | Mean | Std. deviation | Std. error mean | F | Sig. | T | Sig. (2-tailed) | |
Academic performance | Male | 331 | 5.1946 | 1.88573 | 0.10365 | 2.364 | 0.125 | –2.157 | 0.031 |
Female | 209 | 5.5675 | 2.06456 | 0.14281 | |||||
Mental health problem | Male | 331 | 17.2825 | 5.44238 | 0.29914 | 0.830 | 0.363 | 0.719 | 0.472 |
Female | 209 | 16.9293 | 5.73355 | 0.39660 |
In
In Model 2, regression analysis is performed by including the independent variable of leisure time, physical and mental illness, and drugs. Estimated results show that physical condition has negative while mental illness and drug use have a positive relationship with academic performance and are statistically insignificant. Leisure time has a positive connection with academic performance and is statistically significant. This shows that an increase in leisure time will enhance students’ academic performance in Pakistan’s universities.
In Model 3, regression analysis is performed by including the independent variable of mental health problems. Estimated results show that mental health problems have negatively associated with academic performance and are statistically significant. This indicates that an increase in mental health problems decreases people’s academic performance in universities of Pakistan. Our estimations show that a 1% increase in mental health problems reduces students’ academic performance by 8.4% in the case of Pakistan.
Hierarchical regression analysis | |||
---|---|---|---|
Variables | Model 1 | Model 2 | Model 3 |
Family | 0.016 |
0.014 |
0.009 |
Family income | –0.010 |
–0.010 |
–0.017 |
Marital status | 0.050 |
0.046 |
0.050 |
Dependent | –0.036 |
–0.038 |
–0.038 |
Friends | 0.040 |
0.032 |
0.027 |
Leisure time | – | 0.078* |
0.076* |
Mental illness | – | 0.082 |
0.076 |
Physical illness | – | –0.027 |
–0.027 |
Use of drugs | – | 0.028 |
0.036 |
Mental health problem | – | – | –0.086*** |
R | 0.075 | 0.139 | 0.163 |
R square | 0.006 | 0.019 | 0.027 |
Adjusted R square | –0.004 | 0.003 | 0.008 |
Std. error of the estimate | 1.96697 | 1.96082 | 1.95543 |
In this study, a stratified sample of 540 university students was asked to rate themselves on Mental Health Continuum (MHC-SF) [
Existing research documents the importance of mental health. However, less empirical attention has been paid to the effects of mental health on university students and academic performance, especially in Pakistan. This paper contributes to the existing literature on mental health by assessing the effects of mental health on university students’ academic performance. Using primary data from different university students in Pakistan and applying the inferential statistics, Pearson Product Moment Correlation, Hierarchical Regression analysis, and Independent sample
Pakistan’s complex education system is the main reason for the increase in mental illness among the students. The country’s educational setting does not train its students on how they have to face stressful circumstances. Due to this, students fail to transition from college to a university. An increase in academic pressure, economic problems, dependence on others, and professional motivations and the competitive atmosphere increase the serious mental health issues among the university students of Pakistan. Results estimated through hierarchical regression show that the increase in mental illness decreases students’ academic performance in the universities of Pakistan. The difference in Gender significantly impacts students’ academic performance, while an increase or decrease in mental illness is indifferent to the gender difference. Opposing to present research supposition, the hypothesized effect of friends on the academic performance was insignificant. A possible explanation for this unexpected result might be the students unions and political gathering in Pakistani universities.
It is recommended that further study might be conducted by taking the other factors i.e., teacher’s evaluations by rating performance of students, quiz scores, and grades which affects the academic performance to get the apparent exact effect of mental health problems on the academic performance of students in universities. An extensive range of other psychological, demographical and emotional factors may also be examined, which affects students’ academic performance in universities. This investigation is a critical step in detecting the complex association between mental health problems and academic performance. It is supposed that this investigation provokes the examination and increases the information further in this area of investigation. This study’s major limitation is that it explored the association between mental health problems and Pakistani University students’ academic performance. The study can be extended by examining the association of mental health problems with gender, religiosity, family status, campus life, and financial situation. Besides, the study was purely cross-sectional. Future studies could adopt the use of longitudinal data.
We would like to acknowledge the Universities of Pakistan for providing access to data related to this study. We also acknowledge Heilongjiang Higher Education Teaching Reform Project for financial support and extend Gratitude to Marxism school of philosophy as well as to the School of International Education and Exchange North-East Forestry University Harbin for assistance. The authors are grateful to the Editor and anonymous reviewers whose comments have contributed to improving the quality of this paper. At last, we are also very thankful for the valuable suggestions and words of Dr. Mudasser Ali of Harbin institute of technology (HIT) and Emily Minter of UAS for review and English editing.