Depressive Symptoms Life Satisfaction and Cognitive Health Status Among University Students in Nigeria by Gender and Ethnicity

Ezenna Michael Agwu; Stephen Draper; Mark De Ste Croix

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajhr.20170502.12

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Depressive Symptoms Life Satisfaction and Cognitive Health Status Among University Students in Nigeria by Gender and Ethnicity

Ezenna Michael Agwu, Stephen Draper, Mark De Ste Croix

Published in American Journal of Health Research (Volume 5, Issue 2)

Received: 16 October 2016 Accepted: 19 January 2017 Published: 3 March 2017

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Abstract

Background: The health determinant model indicates that certain socio-cultural, socio-demographic, environmental, and lifestyle factors influence health status and wellbeing of any population group in any given nation Previous studies have suggested the need for regional and interregional comparison of health inequalities due to the interaction of these factors. Aims: This study investigated mental health indicators and cognitive health status by sex and ethnicity among university students in Nigeria. Method: The study was cross sectional. Full time university students were recruited from six universities within the major three ethnic groups in Nigeria. Data collection was with an anonymous questionnaire. One thousand five hundred and forty-nine responses were valid, while 563 responses were rejected for missing data especially sex and ethnicity. The variables examined were, psychosomatic health complaints and cognitive behaviours. Descriptive tests, chi-square tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were conducted. Results: With regard to mental health indicators, the results showed that while depression indicate significant differences by gender and ethnicity, life satisfaction showed significant differences by ethnicity alone. Cognitive health status showed sex*ethnicity interaction effect for self-efficacy, sense of coherence and powerful others locus of control. Conclusion: The findings indicated that the mental health of female students in the sample was poorer than those of male students; with female students from the Hausa ethnic group, demonstrating the worst possible health outcome.

Published in	American Journal of Health Research (Volume 5, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajhr.20170502.12
Page(s)	25-37
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Mental Health, Cognitive Health, Health Status, Gender Health Inequality, Ethnic Health Inequality, Health Evaluation, Health Evidence

References

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Ezenna Michael Agwu, Stephen Draper, Mark De Ste Croix. (2017). Depressive Symptoms Life Satisfaction and Cognitive Health Status Among University Students in Nigeria by Gender and Ethnicity. American Journal of Health Research, 5(2), 25-37. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.20170502.12

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ACS Style

Ezenna Michael Agwu; Stephen Draper; Mark De Ste Croix. Depressive Symptoms Life Satisfaction and Cognitive Health Status Among University Students in Nigeria by Gender and Ethnicity. Am. J. Health Res. 2017, 5(2), 25-37. doi: 10.11648/j.ajhr.20170502.12

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AMA Style

Ezenna Michael Agwu, Stephen Draper, Mark De Ste Croix. Depressive Symptoms Life Satisfaction and Cognitive Health Status Among University Students in Nigeria by Gender and Ethnicity. Am J Health Res. 2017;5(2):25-37. doi: 10.11648/j.ajhr.20170502.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ajhr.20170502.12,
  author = {Ezenna Michael Agwu and Stephen Draper and Mark De Ste Croix},
  title = {Depressive Symptoms Life Satisfaction and Cognitive Health Status Among University Students in Nigeria by Gender and Ethnicity},
  journal = {American Journal of Health Research},
  volume = {5},
  number = {2},
  pages = {25-37},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajhr.20170502.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.20170502.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajhr.20170502.12},
  abstract = {Background: The health determinant model indicates that certain socio-cultural, socio-demographic, environmental, and lifestyle factors influence health status and wellbeing of any population group in any given nation Previous studies have suggested the need for regional and interregional comparison of health inequalities due to the interaction of these factors. Aims: This study investigated mental health indicators and cognitive health status by sex and ethnicity among university students in Nigeria. Method: The study was cross sectional. Full time university students were recruited from six universities within the major three ethnic groups in Nigeria. Data collection was with an anonymous questionnaire. One thousand five hundred and forty-nine responses were valid, while 563 responses were rejected for missing data especially sex and ethnicity. The variables examined were, psychosomatic health complaints and cognitive behaviours. Descriptive tests, chi-square tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were conducted. Results: With regard to mental health indicators, the results showed that while depression indicate significant differences by gender and ethnicity, life satisfaction showed significant differences by ethnicity alone. Cognitive health status showed sex*ethnicity interaction effect for self-efficacy, sense of coherence and powerful others locus of control. Conclusion: The findings indicated that the mental health of female students in the sample was poorer than those of male students; with female students from the Hausa ethnic group, demonstrating the worst possible health outcome.},
 year = {2017}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Depressive Symptoms Life Satisfaction and Cognitive Health Status Among University Students in Nigeria by Gender and Ethnicity
AU  - Ezenna Michael Agwu
AU  - Stephen Draper
AU  - Mark De Ste Croix
Y1  - 2017/03/03
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.20170502.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajhr.20170502.12
T2  - American Journal of Health Research
JF  - American Journal of Health Research
JO  - American Journal of Health Research
SP  - 25
EP  - 37
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-8796
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.20170502.12
AB  - Background: The health determinant model indicates that certain socio-cultural, socio-demographic, environmental, and lifestyle factors influence health status and wellbeing of any population group in any given nation Previous studies have suggested the need for regional and interregional comparison of health inequalities due to the interaction of these factors. Aims: This study investigated mental health indicators and cognitive health status by sex and ethnicity among university students in Nigeria. Method: The study was cross sectional. Full time university students were recruited from six universities within the major three ethnic groups in Nigeria. Data collection was with an anonymous questionnaire. One thousand five hundred and forty-nine responses were valid, while 563 responses were rejected for missing data especially sex and ethnicity. The variables examined were, psychosomatic health complaints and cognitive behaviours. Descriptive tests, chi-square tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were conducted. Results: With regard to mental health indicators, the results showed that while depression indicate significant differences by gender and ethnicity, life satisfaction showed significant differences by ethnicity alone. Cognitive health status showed sex*ethnicity interaction effect for self-efficacy, sense of coherence and powerful others locus of control. Conclusion: The findings indicated that the mental health of female students in the sample was poorer than those of male students; with female students from the Hausa ethnic group, demonstrating the worst possible health outcome.
VL  - 5
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Ezenna Michael Agwu

Department of Public Health, Mother Teresa Public Health Research Institute, Aba, Nigeria
Stephen Draper

Department of Sports Physiology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Gloucestershire, Gloucester, United Kingdom
Mark De Ste Croix

Department of Sports Physiology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Gloucestershire, Gloucester, United Kingdom

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Ezenna Michael Agwu, Stephen Draper, Mark De Ste Croix. (2017). Depressive Symptoms Life Satisfaction and Cognitive Health Status Among University Students in Nigeria by Gender and Ethnicity. American Journal of Health Research, 5(2), 25-37. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.20170502.12

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ACS Style

Ezenna Michael Agwu; Stephen Draper; Mark De Ste Croix. Depressive Symptoms Life Satisfaction and Cognitive Health Status Among University Students in Nigeria by Gender and Ethnicity. Am. J. Health Res. 2017, 5(2), 25-37. doi: 10.11648/j.ajhr.20170502.12

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AMA Style

Ezenna Michael Agwu, Stephen Draper, Mark De Ste Croix. Depressive Symptoms Life Satisfaction and Cognitive Health Status Among University Students in Nigeria by Gender and Ethnicity. Am J Health Res. 2017;5(2):25-37. doi: 10.11648/j.ajhr.20170502.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ajhr.20170502.12,
  author = {Ezenna Michael Agwu and Stephen Draper and Mark De Ste Croix},
  title = {Depressive Symptoms Life Satisfaction and Cognitive Health Status Among University Students in Nigeria by Gender and Ethnicity},
  journal = {American Journal of Health Research},
  volume = {5},
  number = {2},
  pages = {25-37},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajhr.20170502.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.20170502.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajhr.20170502.12},
  abstract = {Background: The health determinant model indicates that certain socio-cultural, socio-demographic, environmental, and lifestyle factors influence health status and wellbeing of any population group in any given nation Previous studies have suggested the need for regional and interregional comparison of health inequalities due to the interaction of these factors. Aims: This study investigated mental health indicators and cognitive health status by sex and ethnicity among university students in Nigeria. Method: The study was cross sectional. Full time university students were recruited from six universities within the major three ethnic groups in Nigeria. Data collection was with an anonymous questionnaire. One thousand five hundred and forty-nine responses were valid, while 563 responses were rejected for missing data especially sex and ethnicity. The variables examined were, psychosomatic health complaints and cognitive behaviours. Descriptive tests, chi-square tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were conducted. Results: With regard to mental health indicators, the results showed that while depression indicate significant differences by gender and ethnicity, life satisfaction showed significant differences by ethnicity alone. Cognitive health status showed sex*ethnicity interaction effect for self-efficacy, sense of coherence and powerful others locus of control. Conclusion: The findings indicated that the mental health of female students in the sample was poorer than those of male students; with female students from the Hausa ethnic group, demonstrating the worst possible health outcome.},
 year = {2017}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Depressive Symptoms Life Satisfaction and Cognitive Health Status Among University Students in Nigeria by Gender and Ethnicity
AU  - Ezenna Michael Agwu
AU  - Stephen Draper
AU  - Mark De Ste Croix
Y1  - 2017/03/03
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.20170502.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajhr.20170502.12
T2  - American Journal of Health Research
JF  - American Journal of Health Research
JO  - American Journal of Health Research
SP  - 25
EP  - 37
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-8796
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.20170502.12
AB  - Background: The health determinant model indicates that certain socio-cultural, socio-demographic, environmental, and lifestyle factors influence health status and wellbeing of any population group in any given nation Previous studies have suggested the need for regional and interregional comparison of health inequalities due to the interaction of these factors. Aims: This study investigated mental health indicators and cognitive health status by sex and ethnicity among university students in Nigeria. Method: The study was cross sectional. Full time university students were recruited from six universities within the major three ethnic groups in Nigeria. Data collection was with an anonymous questionnaire. One thousand five hundred and forty-nine responses were valid, while 563 responses were rejected for missing data especially sex and ethnicity. The variables examined were, psychosomatic health complaints and cognitive behaviours. Descriptive tests, chi-square tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were conducted. Results: With regard to mental health indicators, the results showed that while depression indicate significant differences by gender and ethnicity, life satisfaction showed significant differences by ethnicity alone. Cognitive health status showed sex*ethnicity interaction effect for self-efficacy, sense of coherence and powerful others locus of control. Conclusion: The findings indicated that the mental health of female students in the sample was poorer than those of male students; with female students from the Hausa ethnic group, demonstrating the worst possible health outcome.
VL  - 5
IS  - 2
ER  -

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