Mental Health Literacy, Perceptions and Associated Factors among Undergraduate Students in LAUTECH’s College of Health Sciences, Ogbomosho

Abstract

The university years are recognized as a significant era of transformation that influences students' relationships with friends, family and their broader social network. This study aimed to assess the awareness, perception and factors associated with mental illness among undergraduate students of College of Health Sciences, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, Oyo State. A descriptive Cross-sectional design was used for this study. The total population of interest consisted of 403 undergraduate students of College of Health Sciences, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, Oyo State. The data was collected using a self-designed questionnaire. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of SPSS package 27th edition. The finding of this study shows that there were 381 (94.5 %) high level of awareness of mental illnesses and 341 (84.6%) good perception of mental illnesses among undergraduate students. The factors associated with mental illness include family upbringing 318 (78.9%), academic pressures 382 (94.8%) cultural and environmental factors 380 (94.3 %), depression 373 (92.6 %), trauma 399 (99.0%), anxiety 389 (96.5 %), assault and abuse 304 (97.8 %), drug abuse 399 (99.0%),financial difficulty 351 (87.1%) and excessive alcohol consumption and addiction to hard drugs 398 (98.8 %).The 2 (two) hypotheses test showed that there is a significant relationship between awareness and; perception of mental illness among undergraduate students with (P=.000,X2 Cal=41.916a). However, there is no significant relationship between sociocultural factor and perception of mental illness among undergraduate students with (P=.707, X2 Cal=1.392a). The study concluded that there were high level of awareness and good perception of mental illnesses among undergraduate students. It is therefore recommended that University management should increase coverage on factors associated with mental illness through the use of mass media like radio, TV, newspaper, magazine, posters etc.