Abstract
The study examined teachers’ awareness of emotional disorders and its relationship with students’ emotional difficulties and emotional well-being among secondary school students in Lagos State, Nigeria. Descriptive correlational research design was adopted involving 500 participants comprising 50 teachers and 450 students selected from ten public and private secondary schools. Data were collected using the Teachers’ Awareness of Emotional Disorders Scale, Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Scale, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and Well-Being Index. The instruments demonstrated acceptable reliability coefficients. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Findings revealed that teachers had high awareness of emotional disorders (M = 4.42, SD = 0.38) and high self-efficacy in supporting students with emotional difficulties (M = 3.71, SD = 0.70). Students reported low emotional difficulties (M = 1.68, SD = 0.68) and moderate levels of emotional well-being (M = 9.20, SD = 0.38). The study concluded that teachers’ awareness and self-efficacy are important for promoting students’ emotional well-being and recommended mental health literacy training for teachers, self-efficacy and emotional adjustment counseling for students.