A STUDY ON MENTAL HEALTH OF UNDERGRADUATE COLLEGE STUDENTS

Many statistical survey revealed that around 20 percent of the adolescents in the world are having mental health problem. These adolescents are mainly suffering from anxiety, depression and stress. Unaddressed mental health among adolescents can lead to low educational achievements, unemployment, substance use, risk-taking behaviour, crime, poor sexual and reproductive health, self harm and inadequate self care which ultimately leads to disabling condition later in life. Therefore keeping this view in mind the present researcher wanted to understand the mental health of adolescents belongs to different gender and socio-economic status. Mental health is usually conceptualized as some combination of positive affective states such as happiness and functioning with optimal effectiveness in individual and social life. In the present scenario having mental health issues are more among the college students? especially undergraduate students who are prone to mental health problems. Many research studies suggest that the college students are vulnerable to mental health issues which have generated increased public concerns. The aim of the present study is to assess the mental well-being of the undergraduate students. This research study was conducted with undergraduate students in multiple colleges in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Totally 80 students were selected for the study. In order to find out mental health well-being, ?The Warwick-Edinburg Mental Well-Being Scale developed in 2008? was used. The findings revealed that male students are having low level of Mental Well-Being when compared to female students. Further, the socio-economic status such as family type and family income played major role to determine the mental health of the adolescents.