An assessment of socio-demographic profile and psychological related problems in students attending mental health clinic having poor academic performance

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of psychiatric disorders has been increasing day by day among students. The students having poor academic performance are more prone to these disorders especially in developing countries like India. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess and compare the socio-demographic profile and the psychological disturbance between male and female students attending mental health clinic due to poor academic performance. A total of 530 students fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria were interviewed using a semi-structured profroma and The Mini international neuropsychiatric interview (MINI) English version 5.0.0. The data were analyzed using the SPSS version 20 software. The descriptive analysis was done using frequency, percentage mean, and standard deviation. The comparison and risk ratio was calculated using the chi-square test. Results: The majority of the respondents were male students 279 (52.61%) as compared to female students 251 (47.36%) in the present study. Most of them (approximately 45%) were from the age group 20-24 years. The major psychological disturbances were found such depression, anxiety, stress disorder, and suicide intend among the male and female students having poor academic problems. There was a significant difference (P<0.001, OR=0.205, 95% CI 0.130-0.323) in the risk of depression between male and female students. There were other psychological disturbances such as headache, dizziness, and behavioral problems also high among female students. However, sleep disturbance and addiction were found high among male students. Conclusion: Findings of the study revealed that students attending mental health clinic due to poor academic performance are prone to psychological disturbances. The risk of depression was found significantly high among female students as compared to male students.