The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of mental health challenges among university students from marginalised backgrounds. The intention was to understand the effects of a university student's socio-economic background and circumstances on their mental health, as well as their access to the necessary mental health resources and services. South Africa continues to be plagued by high levels of poverty and inequality. The legacy of Apartheid persists post 1994, and many black South Africans still face financial and social exclusion (Marais, 2013). Poverty and inequality inhibit young people from having the material and non-material resources they need in order to complete university successfully (Rothmann and Van Zyl, 2012). When focusing on students' mental health challenges, we see that the transition from high school to university is a challenging time and without the relevant support structures, it can lead to an individual experiencing high levels of anxiety and other mental health challenges. The main objectives included determining the ways in which a student's financial and social exclusion affect their transition to university, mental health and the way in which they cope with stress. Ward's (2009) definition of social exclusion and Gamble and Brennan's (2005) stress vulnerability model were used as the lens' to examine the links between socio-economic deprivation and their experiences of mental health challenges. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 students from marginalised backgrounds enrolled at an institute of higher learning. All 18 students were receiving financial assistance in order to cover their university costs. A semi-structured interview schedule was used as the instrument to guide the interviews. This instrument contained open-ended questions and enabled the researcher to gain a detailed picture of a participant's beliefs and experiences. The findings reveal that since inception, NSFAS has played an important part in the transformation of the student population and addressing the inequality in South Africa. However, students from marginalised backgrounds continue to face unique socio-economic challenges at university and require support structures. The findings have also determined that the concept of black tax remains relevant and that the legacy of Apartheid still effects many young black South Africans. This material and non-material related stress renders a student prone to facing mental health challenges and their struggles to cope with their academics. Daily stress combined with previous major life events and predisposed genetics, contribute to mental health challenges. It was also found that although there was still a stigma, most students still sought professional help. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that universities need to involve students in finding practical, long-term solutions to the mental health crisis on campuses. It is also recommended that the university environment and staff be inclusive and also reflect the experiences of university students of colour. In addition, it was recommended that the government include higher learning institutes in their national policy regarding mental health in South Africa. The study aims to create further understanding and interest, as well as the need to better address these inequalities which manifest throughout a student's university life.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uct/oai:localhost:11427/36077 |
| Date | 15 March 2022 |
| Creators | Smit, Natasha |
| Contributors | Kubeka, Alvina |
| Publisher | Faculty of Humanities, Department of Social Development |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Master Thesis, Masters, MSc |
| Format | application/pdf |
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