Perceived Discrimination and Social Identity as Adolescents' Pathways to Early Substance Use

This study investigated the influence of discrimination and social identity on adolescent’s substance use in selected secondary schools in Ibadan – an investigation predicated on the argument that angry, maladaptive and externalizing behaviours such as substance use could emerge from sustained social hostility and one’s identity confusion. Three hundred and forty-six (346) adolescents were randomly selected from four schools to take part in the study. Results of univariate analysis show that social stress associated with perceived and actual discrimination led highly discriminated adolescents to report high levels of substance use compared to adolescents who  experienced low levels of discrimination (F=8.84, df=1, 338, p<.001). Also, adolescents’  social  identity did not show significant influence on substance use but a tendency to use drugs among adolescents with low social identity compared to those with high social identity reported. This situation suggests the experience of identity confusion by adolescents who experience group hostility and discrimination. Also, a comparison of gender on drug use reveals males using more drugs than females (F=14.10, df=1, 338, p<.001). Based on these outcomes it was  recommended that several social and governmental organizations starting from families should work together in the enlightenment of adolescents and the general populace on the need to respect the rights of every individual and live harmoniously. With this, adolescents will share more social acceptance and reduce the frequency of involvement in emotion-regulated substance use and other maladaptive and externalizing behaviours.Key Words: Discrimination, Social Identity, Adolescents, Substance Us

Erotic Plasticity, Gender and Women's Gatekeeper Roles on Sexuality: Perceived Implications for Marital Relationship Maintenance

Females have been identified as a group whose sex drive is readily shaped by social, cultural and situational factors. Accordingly, female sexuality has been documented to be inherently more amenable than male sexuality to influence by situational circumstances. This study therefore investigated the perceived influence of erotic plasticity, gender and sexual gatekeeper roles of women on marital relationship maintenance. One hundred and seventy-three (173) undergraduates of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, were randomly selected to complete measures of erotic plasticity, sexual gate-keeping roles and relationship maintenance. Two hypotheses were tested using 2x2x2 factorial and correlational designs respectively. The ANOVA result which reported main and interaction effects of the independent variables on relationship maintenance showed a significant main influence of sexual gate-keeping role [F(1,165) = 9.659, p<.05] on relationship maintenance. Also, the three-way interaction was significant [F (1,165) = 5.293, p<.05] while Erotic plasticity [F(1,165) = .297, p>.05], gender [F(1,165) = 1.832, p>.05] and the two-way joint effects yielded non-significant results on relationship maintenance. The prediction regarding inter-correlation among variables showed that age (r = .163; p<.05) and sexual gate-keeping (r = .210; p<.05) were positively related to relationship maintenance while number of children (r = -.695; p <.05) showed negative relationship with relationship maintenance. Furthermore, all variables significantly positively related to each other except number of children. These results were discussed in relation to empirical evidence. The paper concluded with recommendations which advised couples to choose relevant relationship maintenance strategies to navigate their peculiar marital situations towards satisfaction and stability

Influence of Social Support and Caregivers’ Attitude on Depression among Vesico Vaginal Fistula Patients

Background: The prevalence of Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) among women is a world-wide health phenomenon, especially in the developing nations. It primarily occurs when young women experience prolonged and obstructed labour which, most of the times, are due to ignorance, poverty, illiteracy or poor nutrition among others. Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the roles of social support and caregiver’s attitude on depression among VVF patients. Method: The survey method was used. The instruments used for data collection were the Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI) and two other scales developed by the researchers. These were the caregivers’ attitude scale and the social support scale. The researchers administered these measures to V.V.F patients at a rehabilitation centre in Akwa Ibom State and collected relevant data. A 2 x 2 ANOVA was used to analyse the data. Results: The first hypothesis on  social support was not supported F(1,96) = 1.34; P >.05. However, the results supported the second hypothesis on caregiver’s attitudes F(1,96) = 6.77; P<.05). When the interaction of the factors was tested, the result did not also support the joint contribution of social support and attitude of caregivers in reducing patients’ depression F(1,96) = 0.35; P >.05. Recommendation: The results of the study were discussed in line with other existing studies and it was specifically recommended that caregivers should project positive attitudes towards VVF patients in order to impact their wellbeing.Key words: Depression, Vesico Vaginal Fistula, Social Support, Caregiving attitudes

Gender and Leadership Style as Sociodemographic Indicators of Job Satisfaction in Akwa Ibom State Civil Service.

The influence of Gender and Leadership Style on job satisfaction was investigated using two hundred (200) Civil Servants made up of 100 (males) and 100 (females) randomly selected from the population of civil servants in various Ministries of Akwa Ibom State Civil Service. The mean age of the participants was 37.53 years. The participants were randomized into two treatment conditions of Gender (Male and Female) and Leadership style (Democratic and Autocratic styles). Two instruments used were, the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) and the Least Preferred Co-Worker (LPC)‟ scale. The design of the study was a 2 x 2 randomized factorial design. Results of ANOVA showed a no statistically significant difference on the level of job satisfaction between males and females [F(1,196) = 0.02; pns]. Females were not markedly different from males in their satisfaction on the job. On the other hand there was a statistically significant difference between employees under the democratic style of leadership and their autocratic style of leadership counterparts. (F(1,196), = 10.65, P<.01). The democratic style of leadership employees were more satisfied with their jobs than the autocratic style of leadership employees. There was no significant interaction effect. The results of the analysis were discussed in line with previous and relevant findings. The practical implications of the findings and their limitations were also discussed