Effect of socioeconomic status on mental health among Bachelor of Social Work Students in Easter Semester 2026 at Uganda Christian University, Mukono Campus
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Date
2026-05-05
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Uganda Christian University
Abstract
This particular research study examined the effect of socioeconomic status on mental health among bachelor of social work students in the Easter semester 2026 at Uganda Christian University in Mukono campus. This research was conducted in regard to the four specific objectives such as; to establish the effect of family income, to establish the effect of parental educational level, to examine the effect of parental occupation on the mental health of BSW students at UCU, and to determine coping strategies used by students from different socioeconomic backgrounds to manage mental health challenges. This study employed two theoretical frameworks such as Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory and Saleebey’s Strength based theory (Bronfenbrenner,1979; Saleebey, 2013).
A quantitative approach and a cross sectional design were used to conduct this research study. Yamane’s formula was used to get the exact sample of 119 students from the total target population of Bachelor of social work students using stratified random sampling. A quantitative research questionnaire was used as a data collection instrument to collect primary data. Lastly, SPSS was used as a statistical analysis tool to analyze descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analysis. The data collected was analyzed for this research study using the regression analysis, findings showed that family income had Beta coefficient value of .340 and with a probability(p) value of less than .001, Parental occupation level had Beta coefficient value of .371 and with probability(p) value of less than .001, Parental occupation had Beta coefficient value of .357 with probability(p) value of .001 and this meant that all these socioeconomic factors were statistically significant predictors of the mental of student. 60.5% of the respondents indicated worrying about fees caused them feelings of depression, hence made tuition related financial stress to be the most prominent related stressor. Regression analysis showed that the strongest predictor overall was parental educational level compared to family income and parental occupation. The coping strategies that were widely used strategies such as religion and spirituality had 68.1%, seeking emotional support had 71.4%, and active coping 68.0% and also behavioural disengagement was reported by 50.4% of respondents. This study recommended that UCU broaden its financial aid programs, enhance counseling centre’s programs and integrate in to BSW curriculum resilience building modules.
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Undergraduate