TITLE:
Mental Health and Academic Engagement: The Influence of Cyber Dating Abuse Victimization on Undergraduate Students
AUTHORS:
Nancy Mayoyo
KEYWORDS:
Mental Health, Academic Engagement, Cyber Dating Abuse, Distress, Victimization, Depression
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.13 No.2,
February
25,
2025
ABSTRACT: Objective: The study examined the effect Cyber Dating Abuse (CDA) had on victimized undergraduate students’ mental health and how this related to their academic engagement. Participants: Three hundred and eighty-four randomly selected undergraduate students took part in the study. Methods: The study utilized a descriptive research design with data collected using a self-administered questionnaire. A Pearson Correlation Coefficient was used to examine the correlation between distress and academic engagement. Numerical data was analysed using descriptive statistics to yield frequencies and percentages. Results: The findings indicated a high prevalence rate for Cyber Dating Abuse victimization among the respondents. Over half of them reported that the most frequently experienced CDA consequences were fear, depression and anxiety. Equally, almost half of them (46%) experienced moderate levels of distress while 28% experienced high levels of distress any time they were victimized. A Pearson Correlation coefficient of r (314) = −.137, p = .015 indicated that there was a significant negative, though weak, association between distress and behavioural academic engagement. Conclusion: Given the high occurrences of Cyber Dating Abuse reported by victims and the negative effect it had on their mental health, the study suggests the need for interventions. This could lessen the adverse effects this abuse had on the student’s academic engagement. Recommendations: Victims should be encouraged to seek guidance and counselling which is likely to positively impact their mental health. Awareness creation programs can also be useful in encouraging healthy dating among undergraduate students and enhancing behavioural academic engagement.