Asian Journal of Sociological Research

Drug abuse among Nigerian university students is a growing public health concern, yet the roles of psychosocial factors remain poorly understood. The current study examined the interaction between social support, gender, self-esteem and drug abuse in a sample of Nigerian university students. More specifically, the goals were to explore relationship between social support and drug abuse, the role of gender in such connection, and the moderating effects of self-esteem. The study employed a descriptive survey research design with a population of 550 Psychology students from Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (Source; Departmental Admission List, 2025). A total of 384 student 200-400 level students between 17-26 years of age were respectively and purposively sampled. The data were collected by using a structured and pre-validated questionnaire. The collected data were subjected to descriptive statistics as well as multiple regression analysis at the .05 level of significance. The results of the multiple regression analysis indicated that gender, self- esteem and social support significantly predicted drug abuse among university students in Nigeria (F = 49.756, p = 0.000), this  indicates that the regression model is statistically significant, meaning that the set of predictor variables reliably explains variations in drug abuse. The regression analysis revealed that self-esteem and social support were significant predictors of drug abuse, both exhibiting positive relationships with the dependent variable. Specifically, self-esteem had a standardized regression coefficient of B = 0.887 with a p-value of 0.000, indicating a strong and statistically significant positive relationship with drug abuse. Similarly, social support recorded a coefficient of B = 0.638 with a p-value of 0.020, also demonstrating a statistically significant positive relationship with drug abuse. The positive coefficients for both variables indicate that increases in self-esteem and perceived social support are associated with increased drug abuse, contrary to conventional expectations. Gender was not a significant predictor of drug abuse among the participants (B = .017, p= .891). It was concluded that self-esteem and social support are not intrinsic protective factors and indicate complex cultural and social dynamics. Among the recommendations that emerged from study were the need for the integration of community structures into national mental health policies and investment in community driven programs and research into the efficacy of community-based mental health strategies to understand local meanings of self-esteem and support.