RISK FACTORS AND MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AMONG UNDERGRADUATES IN LAGOS STATE

Abstract

The high rate of alcohol consumption among undergraduates in Lagos State hasbecome a serious concern, demanding urgent attention to safeguard undergraduates’ health andwell-being. The study, therefore, examined the risk factors and mental health challenges associatedwith alcohol consumption among undergraduates in Lagos State, Nigeria. A descriptive surveydesign was employed in this study. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 403respondents from three universities in Lagos State. A research instrument, titled "Risk Factors andMental Health Challenges of Alcohol Consumption Questionnaire (RFMHCACQ)" was used tocollect data from the respondents. The content validity of the instrument was established by fiveexperts from the Department of Social Work at the University of Ibadan, and the reliability wasestablished using test re-test reliability method, which yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.88. Thedata collected were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics at the 0.05 level ofsignificance. The findings revealed that academic pressure, emotional stress, and negative peerinfluence were among the major risk factors contributing to alcohol consumption. Findings furtherrevealed that alcohol consumption has severe mental health consequences, such as cognitiveimpairment, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and social withdrawal. The findings showed nosignificant gender differences in either the risk factors for alcohol consumption or the associatedmental health challenges. This concluded that both male and female undergraduates are equallyvulnerable and require similar prevention and counselling interventions in school. It was thereforerecommended that school counsellors should support undergraduates in managing academicpressure and emotional stress through regular exercise, time management workshops, and peersupport groups to promote better mental health and reduce reliance on alcohol. Undergraduatesshould be encouraged by university counsellors and health practitioners to seek psychologicalinterventions from counselling centres when experiencing mental health challenges related toalcohol consumption.