Table of Contents
Title Page i
Approval page ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgement v
Table of Content vi
List of Tables ix
List of Figures x
List of Acronyms xi
Abstract xii
CHAPTER ONE: Introduction
Background to the study 1
Statement of the problem 9
Purpose of the study 9
Research questions 10
Hypotheses 10
Significance of the study 10
Scope of the study 12
CHAPTER TWO: Review of Related Literature
Conceptual framework 13
- Mental illness 15
- Types of mental illness 17
- Causes, Symptoms of mental illness 16
- Beliefs regarding mental illness 21
- Prevention strategies regarding mental illness 22
- Adults 25
- Measurement of beliefs regarding mental illness 26
- Socio-demographic factors associated with mental illness 26
Theoretical framework 29
- Common sense model 29
- Mental theory 30
- Social cognitive theory 31
Empirical studies 33
Summary of literature review 42
CHAPTER THREE: Methods
Research Design 44
Area of Study 44
Population for the study 45
Sample and Sampling Techniques 45
Instrument for Data Collection 46
Validity of the instrument 46
Reliability of the Instrument 46
Method of Data Collection 47
Method of Data Analysis 47
CHAPTER FOUR: Results and Discussion
Results 48
Summary of major findings 59
Discussion of Finding 60
- Beliefs regarding mental illness among adults 60
- Differences in the beliefs regarding mental illness among adults 62
CHAPTER FIVE: Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations
Summary 64
Conclusions 65
Recommendations 66
Suggestions for Further Research 67
Limitation of the Study 67
References 68
Appendixes
Appendix A: Population by ward of adults in Isiala Ngwa South L.G.A 75
Appendix B: Stratification of the L.G.A. into Nvosi, Mbutu and Ovoahaba 76
Appendix C: Validated Instrument. 77
Appendix D: Reliability Testing 80 Appendix E: Letter of introduction 83 Appendix F: Statistical analysis 84
List of Tables
Tables Pages
- Beliefs of Adults Regarding the Concept of Mental Illness 49
- Beliefs of Adults Regarding the Causes of Mental Illness 50
- Beliefs of Adults Regarding the Symptoms of Mental Illness 51
- Difference in Beliefs to Mental Illness by Adults According to Age 52
- Differences in Beliefs to Mental Illness by Adults According to Gender. 53
- Differences in Beliefs to Mental Illness by Adults According to Level of Education 54
- Prevention Strategies Regarding Mental Illness Among Adults 55
- Result of One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) testing the Hypothesis of no significant Difference in Beliefs of Mental Illness by Adults According to Age 57
- Summary of t-Test Analysis Testing the Null Hypothesis of no significant difference on the Beliefs Regarding Mental Illness between Male and Female Adults 58
- Result of One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Testing the Null
- Hypothesis of no significant Difference in the Beliefs Regarding Mental Illness According to Level of Education. 58
- Scheffe’s Post-Hoc Analysis of Group Mean Scores Based on Level of
- Education of Beliefs Regarding Mental Illness. 59
List of Figures
- Schematic Representation of Conceptual Framework of Beliefs and Prevention Strategies Regarding Mental illness Among Adult 22
- Schematic: Representation of Theoretical Framework of Beliefs and
- Prevention Strategies Regarding Mental Illness among Adults 32
List of Acronyms
BRCOMI Beliefs regarding the concept of mental illness 57
BRCMI Beliefs regarding the causes of mental illness 57
BRSMI Beliefs regarding the symptoms of
mental illness 57
Abstract
The study was conducted to find
out beliefs of adults regarding mental illness in Isiala Ngwa South Local
Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria. Seven specific objectives were
formulated with seven corresponding research questions and three null
hypotheses were also postulated to guide the study. The descriptive survey
research design was used for the study. The population for the study was
seventy thousand two hundred and thirty four adults while the sample for the
study consisted of four hundred adults. A five sectioned researcher designed
questionnaire was the instrument for data collection. The instrument was
validated by five experts form the Department of Health and Physical Education
and Educational Psychology Department University of Nigeria. Spilt half method
using Cronbach Alpha statistic was utilized to establish the internal
consistency of the instrument with a reliability index of.75. Percentages and
means were utilized for answering research questions. Analysis of variance
(ANOVA) and student t-Test statistic were used to test the hypotheses. The
results of the study showed that: adults of different age groups, male and
female adults and adults with different levels of education had positive
beliefs towards the various dimensions of mental illness. Majority of the
respondents indicated yes to prevention strategies regarding mental illness.
There was no significant difference in the beliefs regarding the concept of
mental illness, beliefs regarding the causes of mental illness and beliefs
regarding the symptoms of mental illness according to age. There was no
significant difference in the beliefs regarding the concept of mental illness,
beliefs regarding the causes of mental illness and beliefs regarding the
symptoms of mental illness according to gender. There was significant different
in the beliefs of adults regarding mental illness according to level of
education. Based on the findings, recommendations were made among which include
that Government and voluntary health agencies should sponsor enlightenment
campaigns through the print and electronic media in order to sustain the
positive beliefs regarding mental illness.
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
Background to the Study
Mental illness remains one of the major health problems globally and in some developing countries like Nigeria, the situation is aggravated by beliefs. Mahto, Verma, Verma, Singh, Chaudharmy and Shantna (2009) observed that mental illness is common, affecting more than 25 per cent of all people at some times during their lives. World Health Organization – WHO (2001) stated that 450 million people suffer mental health disorder. Out of this number, 40 million people suffer severe forms of mental illness such as schizophrenia and dementia and 200 million are incapacitated by less severe mental and neurological disorders such as anxiety. Similarly, Kabir, Zubair, Isa, Abubakar and Aliyu (2004) reported that 20 per cent of all patients seen by primary health care providers have one or more mental health disorder. Mental illness affects people of all gender, ages, regions, socioeconomic status and societies. In America, one in four adults- approximately 57.7 million people experience a mental health disorder in a given year and one in 17 people live with serious mental illness such as schizophrenia and major depression (National Alliance on Mental Health, 2006). It further revealed that the direct cost of mental health services, which includes spending on treatment and rehabilitation, is estimated at $69 billion in the United States while the indirect cost, which refers to loss of productivity at the workplace, school, and home, are $78.6 billion. In Nigeria, there is paucity of data, however, World Health Organization – WHO (2001) reported that 20 per cent of Nigerians suffer mental illness meaning that there are millions of Nigerians suffering from this scourge.
An illness is unhealthy condition of the body and mind. Houghton (2004) defined illness as a medical condition that disrupts or impairs normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism. Illness can be seen as how an individual respond to disease or impairment and this might enable the person to take action aimed at bringing relief and cure of the illness. Ability of an individual to recognize onset of illness often depends on the severity and widely held views about the condition. Culturally, our opinion towards illness varies and some people through childhood are trained to ignore some symptoms, while others are told to resort to faith-healing or other methods (Ewuzie, 2006). Although an ill person is expected to seek relief or cure for the ailment, sometimes the individual may be ill advice or there may be denial and failure to acknowledge the need for treatment especially when it involves mental illness.
Mental illness is a disturbance of the mind and emotion. Cohen and Kleiman (2009), referred to mental illness as a wide variety of disorders ranging from those that cause mild distress to those that severely impairs a person’s ability to function. From the view point of Ewhrudjakor (2009), mental illness is a disorder of one or more of the functions of the mind such as emotion, perception, memory or thought which causes suffering, to the person and embarrassment to the family and society. People suffering from mental illness exhibit limitations in everyday functioning which include difficulty with interpersonal situations, problem coping with stress, difficulty concentrating and lack of energy or initiative. Mental illness is conceived as a wide variety of disorders ranging from mild distress to very severe forms of illness that severely impairs with a person’s ability to function effectively in the community. The severity and the level of maladjustment determine the classification of mental illness.
Mental illness may be classified in different ways. Owuka (1994), classified mental illness as psychosis and neurosis based on severity. Psychosis according to him is a serious form of mental illness in which the individual is totally disorganized, looses touch with reality and lacks insight into his condition. Such conditions include organic psychosis and functional psychosis. Neurosis, he further stated is a mild form of mental illness in which an individual has insight to his condition, is in touch with reality and able to seek help to solve his problem and examples of neurotic conditions are anxiety neurosis, hysteria, phobias, obessional conditions and reactive depression. Makuolu (2012) noted that mental illness covers a wide range of diagnosable disorders. Such disorders include schizophrenia, affective disorders, alcohol and drug use disorder, obsessive compulsive state, dementia, behavioural and emotional disorder of childhood and adolescents. Mental illness is not caused by a single factor.
Several factors may impact on the development of mental illness. Kishore, Mukherjee, Parashre, Jiloha and Ingle (2007) observed that mental illness arises from a combination of complex interaction of genetic, biological, personality and environmental factors. American Psychiatric Association (2000) identified psychological trauma emanating from childhood, medical conditions such as brain damage, stroke, brain tumor, degenerative diseases, deficiencies in diet and effects of drugs as other causes of mental illness. Severe mental illness alters a person’s life dramatically. Persons with mental illness can experience symptoms and distress that can make it difficult for them to hold job, go to school, relate with others or cope with routine daily chores.
A number of symptoms have been associated with mental illness. Cohen and Kleiman (2009) stated that a person with mental illness may exhibit marked personality changes, inability to cope with problems and daily activities, prolonged depression and apathy. Other symptoms include marked changes in eating and sleeping patterns, thinking or talking too much, hallucinations, neglect of personal hygiene, extreme moods – high or low, excessive anger and hostility or violent behaviour. The bevaviour of a person suffering from mental illness may be bizarre and there might be expression of strange ideas which might be a departure from the standard norms of behaviour acceptable to the society (Owuka, 1994). If detected early, a person with mental illness can successfully be treated.
