A study conducted by the School of Medical Sciences at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi has shown that students with physical disabilities are dealing with high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.

The research, published in the Journal of Science and Technology (JUST), examined the mental health of 45 students with physical disabilities at KNUST.

The participants, mostly male (77.8%), had an average age of 23 years.

Using two key psychological assessment tools, the researchers found that 31.1% of students experienced moderate to severe stress, 42.2% faced moderate to extremely severe depression, and 46.7% reported moderate to extremely severe anxiety.

The study also explored the coping mechanisms used by students to manage these challenges.

It found that emotion-focused coping was the most commonly employed strategy, followed by problem-focused coping and avoidant coping.

The heavy reliance on emotion-focused coping may indicate that these students are struggling to effectively manage their psychological distress.

The researchers, led by Prof. Frances Emily Owusu-Ansah, suggest that the high levels of mental health issues observed point to the need for increased efforts to identify psychological distress among students with disabilities and to provide timely interventions.

Other authors of the study include Mr. Giberson Okrah and Dr. Nana Kwame Ayisi-Boateng.