Empirical Analysis of the Relationship Between Theatre Practice and Mental Health Outcomes in University Students in South West Nigeria

Theatre participation offers psychological benefits including reduced anxiety, improved emotional regulation, and enhanced social connectedness, and empirically characterising these benefits in Nigerian university students addresses a mental health support gap in higher education. This study empirically investigated the relationship between theatre participation and mental health outcomes among undergraduate students at the University of Lagos and Lagos State University, South West Nigeria. A prospective cohort design was employed, comparing mental health outcomes between 120 students who enrolled in departmental theatre programmes and 120 matched non-theatre students over one academic year. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 for depression, General Anxiety Disorder-7 scale, and a validated social connectedness measure were administered at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. Theatre-participating students showed significantly lower depression symptom scores at 12 months (p < 0.01) and significantly higher social connectedness scores at both 6 and 12 months (p < 0.001). Anxiety reduction was significant in theatre students by 12 months (p < 0.05). Students who participated in devised ensemble projects showed larger mental health benefits than those in role-specific productions. The study provides original longitudinal evidence for theatre's mental health benefits in Nigerian higher education and recommends that university counselling services incorporate theatre-based support groups, that student health services document participation in arts activities as part of wellbeing support, and that mental health outcome evaluation be built into university theatre programme reporting. Keywords: theatre participation, mental health, university students, South West Nigeria, psychosocial wellbeing