ISSN 0189-1774
 
2026, Vol: 24, Issue: 2
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Original Article
Online Published: 13 Aug 2026
 


Association of Psychological Distress with Academic Performance among Final Year Medical Students in a Nigerian university.

Chinyere Mirian Aguocha, Chinedu Anthony Iwu, Ugochukwu Madubueze, Pius Ositadinma Mberekpe, Emeka Nwefoh, Chukwuma Duru.

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    • Abstract
    Background: The high rate of psychological problems especially among medical students is an issue of great concern. The rate of psychological distress among medical students in the Southeast of Nigeria and its association with academic performance is not clear.
    Aim: This study determined the level of psychological distress, and its relationship with academic performance of final year medical students in a tertiary institution in Imo State, Nigeria.
    Methods: This was a repeated cross-sectional cohort design of 229 final year medical students of Imo State University. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the socio-demographic characteristics of the students, while the Kessler Psychological Distress (K10) inventory was used to obtain the global measure of psychological distress. The scores for the 5th MBBS final examinations were obtained from the faculty after the examination.
    Results: Psychological distress was present in 49.8% of the respondents. Sixty-one (26.6%) of the respondents were mildly distressed, 26 (11.4%) were moderately distressed, and 27 (11.8%) were severely distressed. There was no association between psychological distress and academic performance (p > 0.05).
    Conclusion: The rate of psychological distress among the medical students was found to be high but was not related to the students’ academic performance in their 5th MBBS final examination.

    Key words: Academic performance, Medical students, Nigeria, Psychological distress


    		 
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    How to Cite this Article
    Pubmed Style

    Aguocha CM, Iwu CA, Madubueze U, Mberekpe PO, Nwefoh E, Duru C. Association of Psychological Distress with Academic Performance among Final Year Medical Students in a Nigerian university.. NJP. Online First: 13 Aug, 2026. doi:10.5455/NJP.306509

    Web Style

    Aguocha CM, Iwu CA, Madubueze U, Mberekpe PO, Nwefoh E, Duru C. Association of Psychological Distress with Academic Performance among Final Year Medical Students in a Nigerian university.. https://nigerianjournalofpsychiatry.com/?mno=306509 [Access: August 13, 2026]. doi:10.5455/NJP.306509

    AMA (American Medical Association) Style

    Aguocha CM, Iwu CA, Madubueze U, Mberekpe PO, Nwefoh E, Duru C. Association of Psychological Distress with Academic Performance among Final Year Medical Students in a Nigerian university.. NJP. Online First: 13 Aug, 2026. doi:10.5455/NJP.306509


    Vancouver/ICMJE Style

    Aguocha CM, Iwu CA, Madubueze U, Mberekpe PO, Nwefoh E, Duru C. Association of Psychological Distress with Academic Performance among Final Year Medical Students in a Nigerian university.. NJP, [cited August 13, 2026]; Online First: 13 Aug, 2026. doi:10.5455/NJP.306509


    Harvard Style

    Aguocha, C. M., Iwu, . C. A., Madubueze, . U., Mberekpe, . P. O., Nwefoh, . E. & Duru, . C. (2026) Association of Psychological Distress with Academic Performance among Final Year Medical Students in a Nigerian university.. NJP, Online First: 13 Aug, 2026. doi:10.5455/NJP.306509


    Turabian Style

    Aguocha, Chinyere Mirian, Chinedu Anthony Iwu, Ugochukwu Madubueze, Pius Ositadinma Mberekpe, Emeka Nwefoh, and Chukwuma Duru. 2026. Association of Psychological Distress with Academic Performance among Final Year Medical Students in a Nigerian university.. Nigerian Journal of Psychiatry, Online First: 13 Aug, 2026. doi:10.5455/NJP.306509


    Chicago Style

    Aguocha, Chinyere Mirian, Chinedu Anthony Iwu, Ugochukwu Madubueze, Pius Ositadinma Mberekpe, Emeka Nwefoh, and Chukwuma Duru. "Association of Psychological Distress with Academic Performance among Final Year Medical Students in a Nigerian university.." Nigerian Journal of Psychiatry Online First: 13 Aug, 2026. doi:10.5455/NJP.306509


    MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

    Aguocha, Chinyere Mirian, Chinedu Anthony Iwu, Ugochukwu Madubueze, Pius Ositadinma Mberekpe, Emeka Nwefoh, and Chukwuma Duru. "Association of Psychological Distress with Academic Performance among Final Year Medical Students in a Nigerian university.." Nigerian Journal of Psychiatry Online First: 13 Aug, 2026. Web. 13 Aug 2026 doi:10.5455/NJP.306509


    APA (American Psychological Association) Style

    Aguocha, C. M., Iwu, . C. A., Madubueze, . U., Mberekpe, . P. O., Nwefoh, . E. & Duru, . C. (2026) Association of Psychological Distress with Academic Performance among Final Year Medical Students in a Nigerian university.. Nigerian Journal of Psychiatry, Online First: 13 Aug, 2026. doi:10.5455/NJP.306509


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