EFFECT OF SOCIAL CLUBBING ON STRESS MANAGEMENT AND ACADEMIC SUCCESS AMONG HUMAN KINETICS AND HEALTH EDUCATION STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS, NIGERIA

Abstract

Unmanaged stress among university students remains a significant concern, particularly in highdemand academic environments characterised by overcrowded classrooms, limited faculty
support, and intense coursework. This study investigated the effect of social clubbing on stress
management and academic success among Human Kinetics and Health Education students at the
University of Lagos, Nigeria. A pre-test-post-test control group experimental design was adopted.
Eighty-four undergraduate students were purposively sampled from the Department of Human
Kinetics and Health Education. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), a validated 10-item instrument
developed by Cohen, Kamarck, and Mermelstein (1983), was used to measure stress levels before
and after an eight-week social clubbing intervention. Data were analysed using both descriptive
statistics, including means and standard deviations, and inferential statistics, specifically the paired
sample t-test, at a 0.05 level of significance. Results revealed that while post-test mean stress scores
(20.524) were numerically higher than pre-test scores (18.143), reflecting a mean difference of -
2.838, the calculated t-value (-0.054) did not exceed the critical t-value (2.086) at 20 degrees of
freedom. Consequently, the null hypothesis was not rejected, indicating that social clubbing
produced no statistically significant effect on stress management and academic success among the sampled students. The study concludes that social clubbing, as structured over an eight-week
period, may be insufficient as a standalone leisure intervention for stress reduction. Alternative
interventions including sports participation, mindfulness-based programmes, and creative arts
engagement are recommended for future investigation.