Correlation and gender difference among loneliness, substance use and purpose in life of senior high school students in Ghana

Abstract

The study examined the relationships and gender difference among loneliness, substance use, and purpose in life of senior high school students in Ghana. Non-experimental correlation design was used to assess the level of the items of variable and their relationships among them. The target population was students from southern and northern schools designated “A” and “B,” in the Cape Coast and Kumasi metropolis respectively. The simple random sampling procedure was used to select 150 males and 150 females from the southern and northern senior high schools for the study. A one-way ANOVA was conducted on each subscale to determine if there were any gender differences in overall scores. Only the loneliness subscale showed males to have a statistically different score than that of females. A Pearson bivariate correlation was conducted to determine any potential linear relationships between the three subscales. None of the relationships showed any significant correlations (p > .05). A regression analysis found no gender or drug use to predict loneliness or purpose in life. The study offers new knowledge in regard to working with adolescents in Ghana.