PHYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS OF FAMILY STRESS AND ITS CONSEQUENCES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Family stress is now a common problem of most secondary school students in Nigeria. It has become a stressor that can cause a change in the family equilibrium thereby affecting students’ mental well-being and academic performance. Mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and personality disorders are common challenges among secondary school students. For optimum success to be achieved in the teaching-learning process there must be proper management of the human and material resources in the environment. Teachers and parents need to improve on their management techniques and interpersonal relationships by recognition of children’s underlying feelings. This paper examined the psychosocial factors and consequences of family stress among students in secondary schools. The paper found that severe financial problems, bereavement, parental illness, parental conflict, parental divorce, bullying, peer victimization and lack of social support are psychosocial factors that cause family stress among secondary school students. However, the findings showed that many families do not know how to be helpful to their loved ones, therefore there is need for counsellors to help families to understand the factors that contribute to stress and how to manage them. There is also need for counsellors to help students understand some effective study methods so as to reduce their level of academic stress. Recommendations were made among which was that counselling unit should be established in all secondary schools in Nigeria, where students with mental health challenges as a result of family and individual stressed factors can go to present their problems for appropriate guidance.