Journal of Psychology and Allied Disciplines

Normative Beauty Standards and Emotion Beliefs

Glory A. ETUMUDOR, Emenike N. ANYAEGBUNAM, Peter O. UGURU, Frank B. ELI — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The study explores the relationship among emotion beliefs, normative beauty standards, and social media use. Specifically, the study investigated how social media use moderates the relationship between normative beauty standards and emotion beliefs. A sample of 479 (male = 46.1%; female = 53.9 %: M = 23.9, SD = 4.43) participants was selected for this study. The cross-sectional design study was adopted. The test of hypotheses using multiple regression analysis which employed Hayes PROCESS Macro, model 1 (SPSS version 25), found that normative beauty standards related with emotion beliefs, and the relationship was moderated by social media use. The outcome of the study supports social comparison theory in which individuals determine their own self-worth and evaluate their own abilities, opinions, and attributes by comparing themselves to others through social media. This study provides insights into the psychological mechanisms underlying the impact of social media use in the relationship between normative beauty standards and emotion beliefs. The outcome of the study has implications for positive psychotherapy interventions aimed at promoting acceptance of body image and reducing the negative effects of social media use on normative beauty standards resulting from negative emotion beliefs expressions.

Can Personality Traits and Social Support Predict Psychiatric Patient’s Medication Adherence?

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Adhering to medication among psychiatric patients may be dependent on personality traits and level of patients’ social support. The study explored personality traits through the big five personality and social support as factors to medication adherence. Through purposive sampling, 250 psychiatric patients (116 males, 134 females) whose age ranged from 22-56 (M = 34.30, SD =7.42), were sampled from a federal teaching hospital in the Southeastern region of Nigeria. Multiple regression was adopted to analyze study data. The result showed that personality and social support positively predicted medication adherence. Specifically, the result showed that openness to experience, agreeableness and neuroticism positively predicted medication adherence, while conscientiousness negatively predicted medication adherence. However, extraversion did not predict medication adherence. The findings highlight importance of understanding personality profiles of patients to foster appropriate mechanism to medication adherence, as well as importance of healthy social support among psychiatric patients to improve medication adherence.

Roles of Work Environment and Basic Needs Satisfaction on Turnover Intention among Secondary Schools Teachers in Ebonyi State

Emmanuella U. ANOZIE, Olivia O. UMUNNAKWE, Alice O. ASAOLU, Olabode, D. IBINI — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This study examined the roles of work environment and basic needs satisfaction on turnover intentions among teachers. Participants were two hundred and ninety-eight (298) secondary school teachers drawn from schools in Ebonyi State. Participants were sampled using convenient sampling technique. They comprised of 26 males (8.7%) and 272 females (91.3%). The variables were measured using Work Environment Scale (WES-10), Basic Needs Satisfaction in General Scale (BNSG-S), and Turnover Intention Scale (TIS-6). A cross-sectional survey research design was adopted for the study. Hierarchical multiple regression statistic was employed for data analysis and the SPSS was used to test our hypotheses. The results of the study indicated that work environment (β = -.47, p < .001), autonomy (β = -.49, p < .001), competence (β = -.10, p < .05) and relatedness (β = -.24, p < .001) significantly and negatively predicted turnover intentions among teachers. The implications of the result projected the need to create awareness about the enhancement of the academic environment, as well as developing strategies to increase teacher’s sense of autonomy, competence and relatedness.

Social Media Usage and Socioeconomic Status as Predictors of Sexual Engagement

Obasanjo S. ADEGBITE, Richard A. ADU, Sunday A. ATUNWA, Raufu O. YUSUFF — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Sexual engagement is a sexual activity by undergraduate young adult students, which could be motivated by social media, socioeconomic status, and peer influence and exposes them to sexual and reproductive health challenges. Earlier studies tried to link social media to sexual behaviour but failed to explore the moderating role of peer influence on the link between social media usage and sexual engagement through a primary data source, while current study attempts to address this gap. A cross-sectional survey design was utilised, and participants were undergraduate university students aged 16-28 years who frequently used social media platforms. Stratified random sampling technique was employed to select participants from different socioeconomic backgrounds through G-power analysis at a confidence level of 95%, and 304 participants were recruited. Positive association was observed between social media usage and sexual engagement, while negative interconnection exists between socioeconomic status and sexual engagement. Peer influence significantly related to sexual engagement. Social media usage and socioeconomic status jointly influenced sexual engagement by explaining 42% variation on sexual engagement. Significant disparity was revealed between high and low social media usage on sexual engagement, and no moderating effect was observed. Institutions and associations should engaged in comprehensive media-literacy and sex education programmes that will focus on risks, benefits and effects of social media usage and sexual engagement.

Understanding the Path from Study Demands to Social Media Addiction

Ike E. ONYISHI, Chijioke K. AYOGU, Damian C. UGWU, Charity N. ONYISHI — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This study examined the mediation role of burnout on the relationship between study demands and social media addiction among university students. The participants were 373 undergraduate students (40.5% male, 59.5% female) aged 16–29 years (M = 21.13, SD = 2.96) drawn from a large public university in Southeast Nigeria. Participants completed the University Demand-Resource Questionnaire (UDRQ), Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS), and Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS). Regression analysis using Hayes’ PROCESS macro indicated that study demands significantly predicted both burnout (β = .65, p < .001) and social media addiction (β = .76, p < .001). Burnout also significantly predicted social media addiction (β = .41, p < .001) and partially mediated the relationship between study demands and social media addiction (indirect effect = .27, p < .001). These findings support the Job Demands-Resources model and the Stress-Adaptation model, highlighting burnout as a key but partial pathway through which academic pressures contribute to problematic social media use. The results underscore the need for universities to implement workload management strategies and mental health interventions to mitigate burnout and social media addiction among students.

Associations of informal employment and age with subjective and somatic health among older adults

Charles Sunday UMEH, Babatola Dominic OLAWA — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This study examined whether social support and loneliness can function as pathways from informal employment and age to subjective and somatic health. The sample consists of 465 older adults (Meanage = 74.18 ± 9.42) from rural communities in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Data were collected using structured instruments in individual households and subjected to path analyses. In the overall model, age was significant on subjective and somatic health but not informal employment. Only the indirect associations of age with subjective and somatic health were significant. Specifically, advancing age was associated with low social support, which in turn was associated with high loneliness feelings and then poor subjective and somatic health. Ageing and healthcare policies targeting increased social support and mitigation of loneliness in families and communities can be beneficial to lessen the health problems associated with advancing age.