An Assessment of Psychological Distress among Fatherless Students in Secondary Schools in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of psychological distress among fatherless secondary school students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi, Nigeria. Through a descriptive survey design, data was collected from a sample of fatherless senior secondary school students, considering factors such as anxiety, depression, and emotional stability. The findings suggest a significant effect of psychological distress among fatherless students in Birnin Kebbi Secondary Schools. The results underscore the need for targeted interventions to address the multifaceted challenges fatherless students face in this context. The study population consisted of 2595 people and a purpose-sampling technique was used to sample 413 respondents. The study used self-designed questionnaires tagged Psychological Stress Questionnaire (PDQ) to collect data. The content validity of the research instruments was done by experts in the field of Measurement and evaluation and the reliability of the instrument was obtained through the test-retest method hence reliability coefficient of 0.78. The study used descriptive statistics to answer research questions while the corresponding hypothesis was tested with Chi-square using the application of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 21.0. The results of the analysis indicated, among others, that the level of psychological distress affects fatherless students psychologically and also can affect their well-being and their level of concentration in school. The study concluded that providing social support will improve their well-being and give them opportunities to improve their well-being and their concentration in school. Approaching the effect will have a great impact to our society.