Predictors of pathological gambling behaviours in parents population in Nigeria.

The increasing incidence of psychological pains, burnout, and anxiety among gamblers in Nigeria is high. This is because pathological gambling (PG) is on the rise and it is linked to many social vices such as stealing, drug abuse, and sexual abuse. It is important to investigate the trajectories of PG in Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey design was employed in our study with 197 participants sampled from 28 gambling venues in Nigeria made up the study's sample size. Of the 197, 131 (66.5%) were males and 66 (33.5%) were females. 50 (25.4%) were within the age range of 20-30 years, 42 (21.3%) were within 31-40 years, 40 (20.3%) were within 41-50 years, 35 (17.8%) were within 51-60 years, and 30 (15.2%) were within 61 and above. Using the hierarchical regression analysis, our finding revealed a significant association between psychological distress and our respondents' pathological gambling behaviour whereas none of the sociodemographic variables made a significant contribution to their pathological gambling behaviour. We concluded that gamblers' psychological well-being is crucial to understanding their problematic gambling behaviours in the context of a developing nation such as Nigeria, and that this could be similar among our respondents. Implications of our findings were highlighted.

Contribution of perceived faculty caring (FC) and student engagement (SE) to lifelong learning (LLL) of post-secondary remediated (PSR) science students.

Literature is unequivocal about the relevance of promoting lifelong learning (LLL) intentions among adult learners. However, what is less certain in remedial education literature is how faculty members play a critical role in motivating the tendencies for LLL among remediated science students, especially in the developing countries. Therefore, this study investigated the contributions of faculty caring and student engagement to remediated science students' perceived LLL tendencies. Correlational research design was used to measure and gauge the level of the relationships amongst the studying variables. A total of 443 continuing education programme students in Nigeria participated in the study. By using AMOS v. 24 and SPSS v. 26 statistical tools for data analyses, we found a high level of student-perceived faculty caring, student engagement components and LLL tendencies. Multilevel regression analyses indicated that the dimensions of students' LLL tendencies (motivation and perseverance) were positively predicted by faculty caring and student engagement dimensions, such as vigour, absorption and dedication. In the final models, the predictor variables could explain some substantive proportions of motivation and perseverance dimensions of LLL tendencies. Our study findings reveal that faculty caring plays a significant role in motivating students' academic engagement and the tendencies for LLL in higher education. Therefore, educational intervention that gears towards improving student academic engagement has a practical implication in enhancing LLL tendencies amongst higher education science students. Hence, the study findings could inspire various educational practitioners to encourage effective academic engagement amongst higher education science students. Directions for further research were suggested.

Impact of intrapersonal and interpersonal emotional intelligence and self-directed learning on academic performance among pre-university science students.

Provision of equitable access to university education is the primary goal of pre-university education. Academically weak students stand to benefit more from pre-university program. However, available literature on effectiveness of the program revealed that high percentage of students still fail pre-university courses. Although the role of psycho-emotional factors on student academic performance has been highlighted, mechanism through which psycho-emotional factors impact on academic performance of pre-university science students is still not clear to offer adequate insights for proper intervention program. Therefore, we examined the pre-university students' academic performance in sciences in relation to Emotional Intelligence (EI) (Interpersonal EI and Intrapersonal EI) and Self-directed Learning (SDL). Specifically, a correlational study design was conducted to measure and gauge the level of relationships amongst Interpersonal EI, Intrapersonal EI, SDL and academic performance of pre-university students. The participants were 443 Nigerian students enrolled in pre-university science program. Students' self-report on EI and SDL were gathered and analyzed using SPSS 26 and AMOS 24. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were performed to determine cross-cultural validity of the instruments in the Nigerian context. After controlling for gender and age, the hierarchical regression analysis reveals that student academic performance was positively predicted by perceived Interpersonal and Intrapersonal EI, whereas self-directed learning has an inconsistent predictive impact at different steps in the model. Overall, the predictor variables were able to explain substantial proportion of students' academic performance in pre-university program. Insightful suggestions were made.