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 has
become a serious concern, demanding urgent attention to safeguard undergraduates’ health and
well-being. The study, therefore, examined the risk factors and mental health challenges associated
with alcohol consumption among undergraduates in Lagos State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey
design was employed in this study. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 403
respondents from three universities in Lagos State. A research instrument, titled "Risk Factors and
Mental Health Challenges of Alcohol Consumption Questionnaire (RFMHCACQ)" was used to
collect data from the respondents. The content validity of the instrument was established by five
experts from the Department of Social Work at the University of Ibadan, and the reliability was
established using test re-test reliability method, which yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.88. The
data collected were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics at the 0.05 level of
significance. The findings revealed that academic pressure, emotional stress, and negative peer
influence were among the major risk factors contributing to alcohol consumption. Findings further
revealed that alcohol consumption has severe mental health consequences, such as cognitive
impairment, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and social withdrawal. The findings showed no
significant gender differences in either the risk factors for alcohol consumption or the associated
mental health challenges. This concluded that both male and female undergraduates are equally
vulnerable and require similar prevention and counselling interventions in school. It was therefore
recommended that school counsellors should support undergraduates in managing academic
pressure and emotional stress through regular exercise, time management workshops, and peer
support groups to promote better mental health and reduce reliance on alcohol. Undergraduates
should be encouraged by university counsellors and health practitioners to seek psychological
interventions from counselling centres when experiencing mental health challenges related to
alcohol consumption.