Influence of Family Structure on the Mental Health and Academic Performance of In-School Adolescents

Abstract

Many factors affect the mental capacity and hence the academic performance of adolescents. The aim of this study is to determine whether relationship exists between family structure and academic performance of in-school adolescents. The respondents were 128 in school adolescents aged from 10 to 19 years from three secondary schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Questionnaire was the means of data collection and the data were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation) at 0.05 level of signifi cance. Academic performance was used to judge the mental health of the adolescents and this was based on the average score in fi ve major subjects for three consecutive terms. Data analysis revealed that over 80% of the respondents were being brought up in good family structures and had good academic performance. In addition, high parental occupational and socioeconomic status and being raised in a monogamous family had signifi cant infl uence on the academic performance of in-school adolescents in Ekiti State. The study suggests that good family structure has positive infl uence on the mental health and academic performance of in-school adolescents.