A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF EMOTIONAL DISORDERS AMONG PUBLIC VERSUS PRIVATE PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN IBADAN, SOUTH WEST NIGERIA

Abstract

Background: Teachers are major stakeholders in the delivery of quality education and care. The impact of the teaching profession on teachers mental health has received considerable attention in the past. Furthermore, a substantial body of literature has shown a strong association between stress, anxiety and depression (Melchior et al, 2007). However, there are currently no studies documented to compare the emotional disorders experienced by public primary school teachers and their counterparts in private schools. In view of the role of the teachers in the socioeconomic development of a nation, their mental health must be given sufficient attention. This is very relevant in Nigeria, where the standard of education has drastically fallen over time, and where the issue of mental health has received little attention. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and correlates of emotional disorders among public and private primary school teachers in Ibadan, Nigeria. Methodology: A comparative cross sectional design was utilized for the study. Two hundred and fifty six public and primary school teachers in Ibadan South West and South East Local Government Areas were recruited. The Multistage sampling technique was used to select the participants. Study instruments utilized were a socio-demographic questionnaire, 7-item Hospital anxiety and depressive scale (HADS) and a 10-item Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). Data were analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences version 20 (SPSS-20). Descriptive statistics such as proportions and percentages were used to present data. Chi-square and logistic regression were used to test associations at p=0.05Results: Prevalence of depression among public and private school teachers was 71.9% (p<0.0001) and 12.5%, respectively. Private school teachers had higher levels of anxiety (64.1% vs 57.8%). More teachers in the private schools (28.9% vs 12.5%, p = 0.001) had low self-esteem than their counterparts in the public schools. Gender was found to be significantly associated with depression in the public school (p=0.001). Younger age (<25 years) and salary range of N10,000 – N19,000 was found to be significantly associated with depression in private schools (p<0.0001 and p=0.030 respectively). Slightly over 20% of participants with depression had low self-esteem in private schools (p=0.047). Logistic regression analysis revealed that teachers in private schools with more than ten years of experience were less likely to have depression than those with less than ten years of experience (OR 0.01, 95% C.I (0.0-0.01), p <0.0001), teachers who taught primary 4 in public school were less likely to have depression than those who taught primary 3 and below (OR 0.21, 95% C.I (0.0-0.9), p = 0.040) and teachers with one dependent were three times more likely to have anxiety than those who had no dependents (OR 3.01, 95% C.I (1.1-8.4), p = 0.036). Conclusion: The presence of emotional disorders among primary school teachers was positively associated with gender, age, marital status, salary, level of education, number of dependents, years of experience and relationship with school management. Primary school teachers in South-West Nigeria are at risk of developing emotional disorders irrespective of the type of school. Therefore helping educators to be conscious and empowered to address their own mental health concerns is the first step to facilitating a healthy learning environment that will ultimately translate to better academic, social and mental health outcomes for children