Childhood Conduct Problem and Alcohol Use of Students in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria

Abstract

Early behavioural problems in children may place them at risk of alcohol abuse in later life. The study investigated the association between childhood conduct problem and alcohol abuse of students in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The data for this cross sectional study was collected from a randomly selected sample of seven hundred and fifty-three (753) tertiary institution students in Nigeria. Questionnaire for Students in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria adapted from Loza (2006) Self Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ) was used for data collection. The results showed significant influence of childhood conduct problem in the likelihood of the abuse of alcohol (β=2.189, Wald of χ2=102.155, and p=0.000). However gender and age do not play significant roles in determining the Alcohol use of students. It is recommended that early careful assessment and treatment of children with conduct problem may be valuable for future prevention of alcohol abuse

Keywords: Conduct problem, alcohol use, childhood

Ife PsychologIA, 20(2), September 2012