Predictors of the Mental Health of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Nigeria

An individual’s ability to work productively, attain self-actualization, and make useful contribution to his or her community is a function of his or her mental health. Poor mental health has the capacity to interfere with an individual’s ability to function adequately across all areas of life. It has however been shown that the consequences of poor mental health in childhood extend into adulthood, which clearly indicates that a healthy mental development in childhood is of utmost importance. Children who are victims of circumstances stand the risk of being exposed to experiences that could negatively affect their mental health thereby robbing them of the opportunity of a healthy mental development in childhood and a healthy mental status in adulthood. This paper therefore looked at the mental health of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), the factors that can predict their mental health, and what to be done to improve their experiences, which can in turn, improve their mental healt

Evaluation of Support Facilities for institutionalized Orphans in Nigeria

A supportive environment is critical to the realization of the full potential of any child, not excluding orphans. Being institutionalized – although much better than living on the streets or with abusive relatives – can never substitute for the benefits of being raised by caring parents. The surest way of providing a child with a simulation of an experience of parental care and affection is by ensuring a supportive environment for the child right in the midst of institutionalization, and the way to achieve this is by putting the necessary support facilities in place. This paper examined the support facilities needed to create a supportive environment for institutionalized orphans; as well as the adequacy of such support facilities in institutions/orphanages in Nigeria. Recommendations for improvement were further mad

Transformational Leadership Style as a Catalyst for Change in the Nigerian Academia

Education is the bedrock of every society and a tool for nation building (Adegbesan, 2011). The development of any nation is therefore engendered by the effectiveness of the various institutions that make up its educational sector. The university (also referred to as the academia) is the highest institution in the educational sector in any nation of the world. Oxford advanced learner dictionary (2011) defined the university as the highest level of education where students study for a degree or conduct researches. The successful functioning of the university system is a function of effective administration and leadership style.Various leadership styles have existed in time past, however the five most common leadership styles include charismatic, transformational, visionary, transactional, and servant leadership styles. The Nigerian academia may be considered as structurally bureaucratic and transactional in administration. The objective of this paper is to examine the current state of the Nigerian academia, and to present transformational leadership style as the requisite for change in the Nigerian university system. Specifically, this paper examined current issues in the Nigerian universities, identifying effective leadership as a solution. It also explored modern leadership styles in today’s changing world, and concluded that the adoption of Transformational leadership style will provoke the necessary changes needed in Nigerian universities and ultimately provide a pathway to being enlisted in the global rating of world universities

AN INVESTIGATION INTO PUSH FACTORS SUSTAINING HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN NIGERIA

Human trafficking is mostly recognized as modem day slavery and as such it is not historically new. However, the dimensions of its operations across the globe call for urgent measures that would arrest its multifaceted devastating effects. This paper therefore delved into sustaining push factors of human trafficking in Nigeria with a view to recommend methods of curbing them. Participants are Four Hundred and Five Nigerians (males=325 females=445) selected through multi-stage from the three major zones of the country (West, East and North). "Questionnaire on Causative Factors of Children and Women Trafficking" (QCFCWT) developed and validated by the researcher was employed to generate data. One research question and two research hypotheses were posed and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The findings indicated that at mean decision point of 3.00 inability to meet the basic needs of life is most potent factor sustaining human trafficking in Nigeria (x= 3.41). This is closely followed by having children more than one can cater for (x = 3.13) and lack of information about realities and dangers of trafficking (x= 3.12). Further analysis showed that there was significant difference on gender basis while no significant difference existed on age basis. On the basis of this findings, it was recommended among others that governments should practically improve the economic base of all families through tested and viable economic policies

Psycho-Social Predictors of Mental Health among Orphans in Southwest Nigeria: Efficacy of Psycho-Education Intervention

Orphanhood is a global phenomenon. Over the years, due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the upsurge of killings, terrorism, accidents, and other disasters, there has been a steady increase in the orphan population across the globe, particularly in Africa. These crises have negatively impacted the lives of many orphans as they are faced with multifaceted challenges that leave them helpless, distraught, and distressed. This study was done in two phases: Phase I and Phase II. Phase I of the study set out to examine the psychosocial variables that predict the mental health of orphans in Southwest, Nigeria. The variables examined are self-concept, self-esteem, social support, life satisfaction, age, gender, and child abuse. Phase II of the study examined the efficacy of a psycho-educational programme in improving the mental health of orphans. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted to collect data in phase I. A sample of two hundred orphans, between ages 13 and 18 years, was selected from orphanages in Ogun, Lagos, and Oyo States respectively and another sample of two hundred non-orphans within the same age range was selected as a control group. The participants completed measures of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), Self-Concept Subscale of the Adolescent Personal Data Inventory, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire, Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire, and Childhood Abuse Questionnaire. Pre-posttest control group design was utilized for Phase II with a sample of twenty-two orphans randomly assigned to experimental and control groups respectively. The experimental group was exposed to a psycho-educational programme (Covenant Coping Skills Intervention Programme). Six research hypotheses were tested at p=0.05 level of significance. Independent-samples t-test was used to test hypotheses one, two, four and five; Multiple regression was used to test hypothesis three; and One-way ANCOVA was used to test hypothesis six. The results revealed that there was a significant difference in the mental health of orphans and non-orphans (t=2.898, df=398, p.05). There was no significant gender difference in the mental health of orphans (t= -.810, df=198, p>.05). There was a significant difference in the mental health of orphans exposed to psycho-educational programme and orphans not exposed to same programme (F(1,19)=19.655, P<.05). The results underscore the need to shield orphans from vulnerable situations that could result in abuse and development of poor self-concept. It is also important to develop intervention programmes that are specifically tailored to improve the mental health of orphan

The Role of Locus of Control and Feedback on Performance of Primary School Students

This study examined Students' Locus of Control and Teacher Feedback using a 2x3 factorial to measure the performance of thirty-six (36) primary school students utilizing the two locus of control types and three levels of teacher feedback: no feedback, attributional feedback, and progressive feedback. No significant difference was found between the performances of students with the two types of locus of control (t=0.352, P>0.05). Also, no significant difference was found between the students who received attributional feedback and those who did not receive feedback (t=0.38, P>0.05). There was, however, a significant difference in the performance between the students who received progressive feedback and those who did not receive feedback (t=2.09, P0.05). The results obtained from this study suggest that providing progressive feedback might enhance the performance of students. There is need for further studies on the interaction between locus of control and performance enhancement techniques through the use of feedback. Notwithstanding, progressive feedback can be applied to produce improvement in performance

Attendance Dilemma and its Effects on the Academic Performance of Secondary Schools' Students in Osun State, Nigeria

Worried by the dwindling academic performance of students in the various national examinations in Nigeria in recent times, this study examined the causes of attendance challenge and their impact on the academic performance of Secondary Schools’ students in Osun State of Nigeria. To achieve this aim, scores in attendance and examinations for 3,050 students in the last three years were collected from 61 state-owned Secondary Schools out of a total of 208 Schools in the State. Two hypotheses were formulated and tested in this respect while descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were adopted for the analysis. The results indicated that the average attendance scores of students across the ten constituencies in the state are proportional to their examination scores. Also, parents/guardians ranked poverty level (M = 3.96), unbearable extra fees imposed on students by the school authority (M = 3.95) and high cost of instructional materials (M = 3.93) as major significant causes for their wards’ absenteeism at school. The results of Chi-square value (χ2 cal = 26.35 > χ2 tab =7.32) for the test of hypothesis showed that a significant relationship exists between class attendance and academic performance of Secondary School students in the study area. It was concluded that a mechanism should be put in place by the State Government to curb the extra fees being charged by the various school authorities. Keywords: Attendance dilemma; academic performance; Effects; Osun State; Secondary Schools; students

The Effect of Colour on the Perception of Taste, Quality and Preference of Fruit Flavoured Drinks

The effect of colour conditioning on taste, quality and liking perception of fruit flavoured drinks was investigated in this study using a Between-Subjects Experimental Design. This study utilized twenty four (24) psychology students of Covenant University as participants. The colour of the fruit drink served as the independent variable while dependent variables such as taste, quality and liking perception were measured. Six research hypotheses were stated and tested. The results indicated that there was no significant difference in the association of colour with taste based on gender (t =. 29, p>0.05). Colour was observed to have a significant effect on taste and quality perception (t=2.10, p<0.05) and (t=3.0, p<0.05) respectively. Relationships between colour and the three dependent variables were observed. There was a negative but not significant relationship between colour and taste perception as well as colour and liking perception, while a positive but not significant relationship was observed between colour and quality perception. A significant positive relationship between quality and liking perception was observed (r=.63, p<0.01). From the findings, it was concluded that colour has an effect on taste and quality perceptions although the result seemed inconclusive concerning the effect of colour on how much participants liked the drink. It is therefore recommended that food designers put into consideration the colour of food products as it would have an effect on consumers. decision making and buying behaviour

THE EFFECT OF STEREOTYPE ON COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF FEMALE COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE

This study investigated the effect stereotypes have on cognitive performance. A between-subjects experimental design was utilized in the study. Forty participants from the senior secondary two (SS2) of Chapel Secondary School Ilorin took part in the study, and their cognitive performance in the light of exposure to a stereotype was measured. Four hypotheses were tested. Using the t-test for independent samples, the findings of the experiment showed that males performed better than females on a mathematics test when exposed to stereotype (t=2.688, df=l8, p<O.OS). The study also found that males who were exposed to stereotype performed better than males who were not exposed to stereotype (t=2.998, df=l8, p< 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the performance of females who were exposed to stereotype and those who were not (t=2.740, df=l8, p>O.OS). Stereotypes have been identified to affect the way people see things and the way they interpret certain behaviours of other individuals or groups. Therefore understanding the nature of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination is the first step in combating these practices

Relevance of Prosocial Behaviours to Rural Entrepreneurship Development in Nigeria

With the current scourge of unemployment and the poverty condition in Nigeria, rural entrepreneurship has had a cushion effect on the depressing economic condition of the nation. Rural entrepreneurship represents the informal sector of the economy which is characterised by small scale businesses involving petty traders and artisans. Interestingly, most research efforts on business development and effectiveness have focused mainly on businesses within the formal sector with no consideration for those in the informal sector. Although prosocial behaviours have been considered as crucial to the success of any business endeavour, these behaviours were investigated and labelled as Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB) within the formal sector with no reference to rural entrepreneurship. Hence, this paper introduced the concept of Entrepreneurial Prosocial Behaviours (EPB) as those types of behaviours essential for the development of rural entrepreneurship. It examined the nature of rural entrepreneurship in Nigeria, the theoretical explanation of entrepreneurial prosocial behaviours, its dimensions and relevance to the success of rural entrepreneurship in Nigeria. This paper concluded that prosocial behaviours are crucial to the development of small business units and recommended that such be cultivated among rural entrepreneurs. Further, this paper recommended that empirical research be conducted to validate Entrepreneurial Prosocial Behaviours (EPB) as a construc