Perceived Stigmatisation, Societal Discrimination and Mental Health of Students with Hearing Impairment in Selected Secondary Schools in Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

Students with hearing impairment in Nigerian secondary schools negotiate both communication barriers and prevailing social attitudes towards disability, yet the psychological consequences of these experiences remain thinly documented. This study examined the relationship between perceived stigmatisation, societal discrimination and the mental health of students with hearing impairment in selected secondary schools in Ibadan metropolis, Oyo State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was adopted. Purposive sampling was used to select three secondary schools known to enrol learners with hearing impairment, from which 120 students were drawn. Data were collected using a researcher-developed instrument, the Perceived Stigmatisation, Societal Discrimination and Mental Health Questionnaire (PSSDMHQ), and were analysed using mean, standard deviation and Pearson Product Moment Correlation, with a criterion mean of 2.50 adopted for decision making. Perceived stigmatisation was reported to a high extent (grand mean = 2.94), students describing anticipated ridicule, shame about their hearing condition and avoidance of social situations. Societal discrimination was similarly high (grand mean = 2.98), expressed through exclusion from group activities, differential treatment by teachers and assumptions about capability. Mental health status was generally poor (grand mean = 2.78), marked by sadness, social anxiety, loneliness and low self-confidence. Correlation analysis showed strong positive associations between perceived stigmatisation and mental health difficulty (r = .72, p < .001), between societal discrimination and mental health difficulty (r = .75, p < .001), and between the two social variables (r = .68, p < .001). The study concludes that perceived stigmatisation and societal discrimination function as mutually reinforcing social experiences associated with psychological distress in this population, and recommends school-level sensitisation, inclusive instructional practice and accessible counselling provision.