JOINT PREDICTIVE POWER OF PAEDOPHILIC TENDENCY AND PORNOGRAPHIC ADDICTION ON SCHOOL ADJUSTMENT OF UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATES IN SOUTH-EAST NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the joint predictive power of paedophilic tendency and pornographic addiction on the school adjustment of university undergraduates in South-East Nigeria. Eight research questions guided the study, while eight null hypotheses were tested at the 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted a correlational survey research design. It was conducted in the five states of South-East Nigeria: Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo. The population comprised 148,712 undergraduate students enrolled in federal universities in the region during the 2024/2025 academic session. A sample of 1,148 undergraduates was selected using a multistage sampling procedure. Three instruments were used for data collection, namely the Paedophilic Tendency Scale (PTS), Pornographic Addiction Scale (PAS), and School Adjustment Scale (SAS). The instruments were face-validated by three experts from the Faculty of Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Their reliability coefficients, determined using the Cronbach Alpha method, were 0.76, 0.79, and 0.74, respectively. Data were collected using Google Forms and analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Simple linear regression was used to answer the research questions, while multiple linear regression was used to test the null hypothesis. The findings revealed that paedophilic tendency significantly predicted university undergraduates' school adjustment. Pornographic addiction also significantly predicted school adjustment. Furthermore, paedophilic tendency and pornographic addiction jointly and significantly predicted school adjustment. The regression model further showed that pornographic addiction made the strongest contribution to predicting school adjustment, followed by paedophilic tendency. The study concluded that paedophilic tendency and pornographic addiction are significant behavioural predictors of university undergraduates' school adjustment. It was therefore recommended, among others, that university authorities should strengthen counselling and mental health services through regular psychological screening, confidential counselling, sexuality education, and digital wellness programmes to enhance students' adjustment to university life.