Academic Journal
Emotional insecurity, social support, and drug use in a Nigerian university: A mixed methods study involving students and lecturers.
| Τίτλος: | Emotional insecurity, social support, and drug use in a Nigerian university: A mixed methods study involving students and lecturers. |
|---|---|
| Συγγραφείς: | Nnam MU; Walter Sisulu University, Private Bag 1421, East London, 5200, South Africa. Electronic address: mnnam@wsuac.za., Iloma DO; Department of Police Practice, School of Criminal Justice, College of Law, University of South Africa, South Africa. Electronic address: ilomado@unisa.ac.za., Ajah BO; Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Faculty of the Social Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria. Electronic address: okorie.ajah@unn.edu.ng., Enweonwu OA; Humanities Unit, School of General Studies, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Nigeria. Electronic address: olise.enweonwu@unn.edu.ng., Anowia WE; Humanities Unit, School of General Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria. Electronic address: wilson.anowia@unn.edu.ng., Offu P; Department of Political Science, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, PMB 1010, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Electronic address: peter.offu@funai.edu.ng. |
| Πηγή: | Acta psychologica [Acta Psychol (Amst)] 2026 Aug; Vol. 268, pp. 107227. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jun 11. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: North Holland Publishing Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 0370366 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1873-6297 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00016918 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Acta Psychol (Amst) Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Amsterdam : North Holland Publishing Original Publication: The Hague. |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Students*/psychology , Students*/statistics & numerical data , Substance-Related Disorders*/psychology , Substance-Related Disorders*/epidemiology , Social Support* , Emotions*, Nigeria/epidemiology ; Humans ; Female ; Universities ; Male ; Young Adult ; Adult ; Adolescent ; Academia |
| Περίληψη: | The study examined how emotional insecurity and social support correlate with drug use among university students in Nigeria. Using a mixed-methods approach and purposive sampling, the research involved 513 participants: 486 students (221 males and 265 females) and 27 lecturers (21 males and 6 females). The quantitative data were analysed using linear regression and the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient, while the qualitative data were explored through thematic analysis. The findings revealed a significant association between social support and drug use; students with limited social support reported higher levels of drug use, while those with strong social support reported lower levels. Emotional insecurity was also found to have an independent correlation with drug use. Qualitative results showed that lecturers were hesitant to implement drug policies due to concerns about potential harm and security risks. They often associate students drug use with campus secret cults, leading to a reluctance to engage in their personal lives to minimise risks. The study suggests that enhancing social support through restorative justice models offers a more inclusive and efficient approach to addressing drug issues compared to repressive strategies that are less effective as deterrents. (Copyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest Macpherson Uchenna Nnam reports that article publishing charges were provided by Walter Sisulu University - Buffalo City Campus. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to be associated with the work reported in this paper. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Attachment theory; Drug use; Emotional insecurity; Mixed methods; Social support |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260611 Date Completed: 20260724 Latest Revision: 20260724 |
| Update Code: | 20260724 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.actpsy.2026.107227 |
| PMID: | 42275970 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
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