Brain Fag Syndrome (BFS), Sleep, And Beliefs About Sleep Among Secondary School Students In Nigeria

Brain Fag, a culture bound syndrome which manifests especially among students in Africa was investigated in relation to sleep and beliefs about sleep in a sample of Nigerian secondary school students. Methods: A sample of 500 secondary school students were drawn from six secondary schools in Ile-Ife, Osun State,Nigeria. The Brain Fag Syndrome Scale, Beliefs and Attitude about sleep Questionnaire, and selected items of Pittsburgh Sleep Index were administered on the participants. Results: Students with Brain Fag Syndrome (BFS) slept an average of 5.8 hrs (S.D = 1.1) while those without BFS slept an average of 5.9 hrs (S.D = 1.1).One hundred and eighty two (37.3%) BFS students slept above 6 hrs a day compared with 32 (62.7%) of non BFS students (t = -2.667; df = 49; p = 0.657). Students with BFS (44.3%) slept early while 33.8% of students without BFS slept early (X2 = 7.324, df = 3, p = 0.007). Early insomnia was experienced by 57% of BFS cases while 55% of non BFS cases experienced early insomnia (X2 = 2.019; df = 1; p= 0.155). Conclusion: BFS students in Nigeria to adjust their sleep patterns and habits in order to forestall clinically significant psychological breakdown and impairment in cognitive functionin

Psychotherapeutic Allegories and Some Metaphors of Harmony Restoration Theory and Therapy in an Mrican Indigenous Folktale

Folktales, narratives, metaphors or stories are psychotherapeutic in nature especially when consciously applied in a therapeutic setting. They assist clients. in achieving · wholeness in the area of therapy focus. They also educate, entertain and perform other functions depending on the' context they are used. While reading, listening to, or even writing their own stories, people tend to understand, feel, relate with and even see a part of themselves in stories. In Africa, when people are bereaved, they are told stories to assist them grieve positively (Nwoye, 2005). This paper elucidates the psychotherapeutic components of folktales or metaphors with focus on "Alabingo" (The land of Bingo), an indigenous (Igbo) folktale translated to English by Pritchett (2004). The story shows cycles of harmony-disharmony within the endocosrnos (relationship within oneself), mesocosmos (relationship between oneself and others) and exocosmos · (relationship between oneself and higher order beings (God or gods) or other revered things) that the Chief of Bingo went through before he was able to marry a wife and select a heir to his throne. The harmony-disharmony cycle experienced by the Chief were teased out and were juxtaposed with the steps he took to facilitate the achievement of harmony his life. The importance of metaphors in psychotherapy and therapeutic characteristics of metaphors in Alabingo were highlighted and implications · for psychotherapy practice in Africa were also elucidated

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF INDICES OF FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE AMONG A CROSS-SECTION OF A NIGERIAN PRIVATE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

The study described the systematic processes involved in the development and validation of a self-report instrument tagged “Indices of Financial Intelligence” [IFI] designed to measure financial intelligence. A total of 250 undergraduate students randomly selected from 100 to 500 levels in a Nigerian private university participated in the study. The participants’ age ranged from 15-29 years with mean age of 18.53. Indices of Financial Intelligence scale was used to generate data. The original scale has 34 items that were clustered into three dimensions of spending, saving and giving money. The result of a principal component factor analysis confirmed the three factor theoretical model of the IFI namely, spending, saving, and giving money but with 25 items loading significantly in the three factors combined. The obtained communality ranged from 0.186 to 0.622 while significant correlations between 0.351 and 0.880 were observed between the three factors. A Cronbach Alpha of 0.89 established the IFI as a reliable instrument for assessing the level of financial intelligence among undergraduate university students. Premised on these findings, the IFI appears to be a valid instrument for assessing financial intelligence and is therefore recommended as a tool for financial guidance of young people by psychologists, economists and allied disciplines

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Enugu Somatization Scale

Somatization of emotional distress, the manifestation of psychological problems in somatic form, is widespread in Nigeria and there are shortcomings in the use of foreign methods to assess this disorder in Nigeria (Ebigbo & Ihezue, 1981). Ebigbo developed the Enugu Somatization Scale (ESS) in 1982 to measure this but there was need for a factorial examination of the scale. 1204 participants with ages between 10 to 79 years with mean age of 29.83 years and a standard deviat ion of 11.44 of which 635 are stressed normal participants and 569 are hospital patients were selected using the 65 item ESS. The data was subjected to the Statistical analysis using Principal Component Analysis and Oblim Rotation. One valid factor with 51 items emerged making the ESS a one-dimensional (unidimentional) scale which measures somatization only. The reliability analysis yielded a Cronbach Alpha coefficient of 0.932, and a standardized item alpha of 0.936 estimated its internal consistency. Also, an intrinsic validity of 0.9654 was observed. This study reduced the items on the ESS from 65 to 51 valid items and established the factorial validity of the ESS. Key Words: Somatization, Factor analysis, Reliability, Nigeria, Scal

Overcrowding, Age and Gender Differences in the Manifestation of state Anxiety among Undergraduate Students in a Nigerian Public University

Most students in tertiary institutions in Nigeria have a hard time procuring adequate accommodation. Hence, they are usually left with the option of having to share a room with many people resulting inover-crowded hostels. This study sought to examine the effect of over-crowding, age and gender on the state anxiety levels of undergraduates in a Nigerian public university. 192 participants were selected from male and female students residing in the hostels and off-campus with age range of 16 – 30 (mean age = 22.80; SD = 2.70). Average person per room was used to determine how crowded the room was and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory form Y – 1 (STAI – Y1) was administered on the participants. A three-way ANOVA showed a non significant interaction effect between overcrowding, age and gender on the manifestation of anxiety among university undergraduates, F(2, 180) = 2.22, p = 0.11. The result also revealed a significant main effect of gender on the manifestation of state anxiety among undergraduates, F(1, 180) = 18.212, p = 0.00, where males manifested more anxiety than female undergraduates. There was also a significant interaction effect of overcrowding and gender F(1, 180) = 5.67, p = 0.02. It was concluded that university undergraduates should be provided with adequate accommodation in higher institutions they attend in order to reduce overcrowding and state anxiety among undergraduates

Development And Validation Of The Brain Fag Propensity Scale

Brain Fag Syndrome (BFS) is a psychiatric disorder associated with study among African students. Among secondary school students, it affects two to four out of every ten students. One of the consequences of this illness is early foreclosure of education in affected students. However, clinical experience suggests that many students have sub-threshold symptoms of brain fag and are at risk for developing brain fag syndrome. This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable psychometric instrument that measures brain fag syndrome propensity

Students' Opinion on Substance Use,Violent Behavior and Possible Intervention Strategies in a Nigerian Public University

This study investigated students’ opinion on substance use, violent behavior and possible intervention strategies in a Nigerian public university. Two hundred and ninety three participants consisting of 147 males and 146 females with the mean age of 23.67 (SD=3.77) were sampled. A questionnaire designed to elicit student’s opinion on substance use prevalence and proclivity for violent behavior as a result of substance use was administered on the participants using a descriptive cross-sectional research design for data collection. Analysis revealed that majority of the students saw substance abuse as a problem in the university (80.5%), and majority have witnessed violence resulting from substance use (61.4%). Alcohol and marijuana were the top two on the list of substances abused by male and female students and it was reported that violent behaviors like sexual assault, physical assault and violent crimes were common to students after they had abused substance. It was suggested by the respondents that the university authority should use regulation and enlightenment to control substance abuse and use punishment and counseling among others to control violent behavior among student

Harmony-disharmony therapy: a treatment method of African origin

The harmony restoration theory of health (HRT) is an existential phenomenological theory of health and ill health from an African perspective. The theory emanated from years of clinical practice of Peter Ebigbo in the mid 90s has its basic tenet, "he who is at peace with his world does not fall sick" and this is the root from which all other tenets of the harmony restoration theory stems. The harmony restoration theory of health was borne out of the African concept of illness. In Africa, the mind, the body and the society interact to produce health and ill-health. From clinical practice, it was observed that the African personality has three components, namely: the endocosmos, which is the relationship between the individual and himself; the mesocosmos, the relationship between the individual and the significant others in his environment; and the exocosmos, the relationship between the individual and his God or gods. This paper examines the HRT, traces its origin from the African traditional and contemporary religion, the sociocultural, personological aspect of its derivation, its development and how it is applied in the treatment of psychological disturbances as well as in maintaining positive health. It also examines two case studies where the harmony restoration therapy was used and lastly, makes a case for its further exploration by other health care practitioners

Assimilative Integration of Gestalt Therapy in the Treatment of Pentazocine Drug Dependence: A Case Report

Application of gestalt therapy is not common with Nigerian clients. The more common psychotherapy modalities are the indigenous psychotherapy models of either Harmony Restoration Therapy or Meseron Therapy. This paper presents a case report of Ms. J. E, a 28 year old single graduate, a civil servant. Client was misdiagnosed at the age of 24 years as being anaemic while undergoing her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Scheme and was placed on injectable Pentaxocine. Client became addicted to the drug, using it as a stimulant when depressed. Client’s abuse of the drug led her to stealing personal belongings of family members to purchase the drug. Client stole her mother’s gold trinkets worth about 5 million Nairas, which purportedly led the mother developing kidney failure and her eventual death. Client had gone for previous rehabilitation, which did not achieve positive result. Client was treated with gestalt therapy in order to resolve the unfinished business that she had with her mother. Client improved following treatment and is still stable after two years follow-up