Abstract
This study examined the relationship between mental disorder and academic performance of secondary school students in Sabon Gari Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. Two objectives, research questions and one hypothesis were formulated to guide the study. Correlational design was adopted and purposive sampling technique was used to select a sample of three hundred and eighty one (381) students according to Research Advisor 2006 table of sample size from the total population of forty nine thousand five hundred and ten (49,510). Two research instruments were used: Mental Disorder Questionnaire and English language Achievement test. Descriptive statistics of mean, standard deviation, Pearson product moment correlation and independent t-test statistics were used to analyze the data collected. The findings revealed that there is no significant relationship between mental disorder and academic performance of secondary school students (r = 0.034p = 0.507), there is no significant mean difference between male and female students of secondary school students in Sabon Gari Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The study therefore recommends the school authorities should have functional counselling and psychological testing centres for attending to students with mental disorder problems in order to attain better academic performance, also teachers should seek support from colleagues and collaborates with other counsellors to address the issue of mental disorder, these will go a long way in reducing anxiety among students of secondary school in Sabon Gari Local Government, Kaduna State and Nigeria in general.
Keywords: Mental Disorder, Isolation, Mental Health, Motivation, Academic Performance