Academic Stress, Academic Performance and the Psychological Well-Being of Senior High School Remedial Students in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of academic stress and academic performance on the psychological well-being of Senior High School (SHS) remedial students ranging from 18 to 25 years. The moderating role of social support, africultural coping, gender and socio-economic status in the relationship between academic stress and psychological well-being were also investigated. The moderating role of academic self-efficacy, in the relationship between academic performance and psychological well-being was also investigated. Data was collected from One hundred and eighty-two (182) SHS remedial students from two remedial schools in Accra. Questionnaires administered were the Student-Life Stress Inventory (SLSI), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS- 42), the Africultural Coping Systems Inventory (ACSI), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and the Academic Self-Efficacy Scale. Results from the analysis using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient indicated a positive relationship between academic stress and psychological well-being (increasing scores on the DASS-42 indicates poorer psychological well-being). Similarly, Academic performance was not related to psychological well-being. Further analysis using, Hierarchical Multiple Regression analyses showed that social support, africultural coping, gender, and socio-economic status did not moderate the relationship between stress and psychological well-being. Lastly, an analysis using the independent t-test indicated gender differences in the psychological well-being of the students.