American Journal of Applied Psychology

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Psychosocial Correlates of Substance Use among Unemployed Persons in Ibadan, Nigeria

Received: 24 March 2014    Accepted: 20 April 2014    Published: 30 April 2014
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Abstract

Background: The study explored the prevalence of substance use among unemployed persons in Ibadan, and the roles of some psychological and socio-demographic variables. Method: A standardized questionnaire was used to collect relevant data from 200 unemployed persons. Respondents’ were 109 males and 91 females, with a mean age of 29.07 and a standard deviation of 5.46. Mean years of graduation (when a respondent had graduated without a job) was 5.38 years with a standard deviation of 3.53. Results: Lifetime and current use of psychoactive substances were 69% and 44% respectively, indicating that this particular population (the unemployed) might be at an elevated risk for substance abuse. The most currently used psychoactive substances were alcohol (36%), followed by stimulants (29%), Tobacco (28%), and sedatives (12.5%), while for lifetime use the following were the most common: alcohol (44.5%), stimulant (35%), tobacco (32%) and cannabis (21%). Results showed that age (r = -.23; p<.05), sex (r = -.39; p<.01), Marital status (r = -.22; p<.05), Number of years of formal education (r = -.27; p<.05), number of years spent after graduation (r = .33; p<.01), personality (r = -.47; p<.01), perceived social support (r = -.41; p<.01), and distress tolerance (r = -.47; p<.01) were significantly related to substance use. Conclusion/Recommendation: Unemployed persons should be considered for social schemes and social security benefits. Also, unemployed persons should be targeted for psychological services such as counseling and specially designed psycho-educational programmes aimed at engendering core self-evaluation traits (high self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, emotional stability and internal locus of control), distress tolerance, and social support

DOI 10.11648/j.ajap.20140302.12
Published in American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 3, Issue 2, March 2014)
Page(s) 32-38
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Substance Use, Psychosocial Factors, Unemployment, Nigeria

References
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Author Information
  • Department of Psychology and Sociology, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria

  • Department of Clinical Psychology, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Nigeria

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  • APA Style

    James A. Adekoya, Gboyega E. Abikoye. (2014). Psychosocial Correlates of Substance Use among Unemployed Persons in Ibadan, Nigeria. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 3(2), 32-38. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20140302.12

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    James A. Adekoya; Gboyega E. Abikoye. Psychosocial Correlates of Substance Use among Unemployed Persons in Ibadan, Nigeria. Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2014, 3(2), 32-38. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20140302.12

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    AMA Style

    James A. Adekoya, Gboyega E. Abikoye. Psychosocial Correlates of Substance Use among Unemployed Persons in Ibadan, Nigeria. Am J Appl Psychol. 2014;3(2):32-38. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20140302.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajap.20140302.12,
      author = {James A. Adekoya and Gboyega E. Abikoye},
      title = {Psychosocial Correlates of Substance Use among Unemployed Persons in Ibadan, Nigeria},
      journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
      volume = {3},
      number = {2},
      pages = {32-38},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.20140302.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20140302.12},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.20140302.12},
      abstract = {Background: The study explored the prevalence of substance use among unemployed persons in Ibadan, and the roles of some psychological and socio-demographic variables. Method: A standardized questionnaire was used to collect relevant data from 200 unemployed persons. Respondents’ were 109 males and 91 females, with a mean age of 29.07 and a standard deviation of 5.46. Mean years of graduation (when a respondent had graduated without a job) was 5.38 years with a standard deviation of 3.53. Results: Lifetime and current use of psychoactive substances were 69% and 44% respectively, indicating that this particular population (the unemployed) might be at an elevated risk for substance abuse. The most currently used psychoactive substances were alcohol (36%), followed by stimulants (29%), Tobacco (28%), and sedatives (12.5%), while for lifetime use the following were the most common: alcohol (44.5%), stimulant (35%), tobacco (32%) and cannabis (21%). Results showed that age (r = -.23; p<.05), sex (r = -.39; p<.01), Marital status (r = -.22; p<.05), Number of years of formal education (r = -.27; p<.05), number of years spent after graduation (r = .33; p<.01), personality (r = -.47; p<.01), perceived social support (r = -.41; p<.01), and distress tolerance (r = -.47; p<.01) were significantly related to substance use. Conclusion/Recommendation: Unemployed persons should be considered for social schemes and social security benefits. Also, unemployed persons should be targeted for psychological services such as counseling and specially designed psycho-educational programmes aimed at engendering core self-evaluation traits (high self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, emotional stability and internal locus of control), distress tolerance, and social support},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Psychosocial Correlates of Substance Use among Unemployed Persons in Ibadan, Nigeria
    AU  - James A. Adekoya
    AU  - Gboyega E. Abikoye
    Y1  - 2014/04/30
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    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20140302.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajap.20140302.12
    T2  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    JF  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    JO  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
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    EP  - 38
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5672
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20140302.12
    AB  - Background: The study explored the prevalence of substance use among unemployed persons in Ibadan, and the roles of some psychological and socio-demographic variables. Method: A standardized questionnaire was used to collect relevant data from 200 unemployed persons. Respondents’ were 109 males and 91 females, with a mean age of 29.07 and a standard deviation of 5.46. Mean years of graduation (when a respondent had graduated without a job) was 5.38 years with a standard deviation of 3.53. Results: Lifetime and current use of psychoactive substances were 69% and 44% respectively, indicating that this particular population (the unemployed) might be at an elevated risk for substance abuse. The most currently used psychoactive substances were alcohol (36%), followed by stimulants (29%), Tobacco (28%), and sedatives (12.5%), while for lifetime use the following were the most common: alcohol (44.5%), stimulant (35%), tobacco (32%) and cannabis (21%). Results showed that age (r = -.23; p<.05), sex (r = -.39; p<.01), Marital status (r = -.22; p<.05), Number of years of formal education (r = -.27; p<.05), number of years spent after graduation (r = .33; p<.01), personality (r = -.47; p<.01), perceived social support (r = -.41; p<.01), and distress tolerance (r = -.47; p<.01) were significantly related to substance use. Conclusion/Recommendation: Unemployed persons should be considered for social schemes and social security benefits. Also, unemployed persons should be targeted for psychological services such as counseling and specially designed psycho-educational programmes aimed at engendering core self-evaluation traits (high self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, emotional stability and internal locus of control), distress tolerance, and social support
    VL  - 3
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