Influence of House Help Status and Self-Esteem on the Psychological Health of Igbo (Nigerian) Adolescents

Abstract

The study examined the influence of house help status and self-esteem on the psychological health of adolescents. Two hundred and five (205) adolescents (91 house helps and 114 non-house helps) drawn from four schools in Nsukka area of Enugu State completed the Index of Self Esteem Scale (ISE) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) results showed that the house helps obtained significantly higher scores on the GHQ-I2 measure reflecting poorer psychological health than non-house helps. Similarly, participants low in self-esteem obtained significantly higher scores on the GHQ-I2 measure reflecting poorer psychological health than participants high in self-esteem. The results suggested that the state of being a house help and having low self-esteem are potent risk factors for psychopathology.