EFFECT OF SOCIAL DISRUPTION ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING: AN EXPERIENCE OF NIGERIAN RURAL YOUTH

Abstract

Social disruption such as the COVID-19 pandemic has affected different aspects of human life. This study assessed the effect of the pandemic as a social disruption on the psychological well-being of rural youth in Nigeria. Data were gathered from 125 rural youth selected through a multistage sampling process using a structured interview schedule. The data were analyzed using suitable statistical tools. The results show that the youth's mean age and year of farming experience were 26.71± 6.1 and 11.79 ±5.82 respectively. Most of them were male (93.6%), with at least secondary school education (92.0), and got information about the disruption through social media (85.6%). In addition, the majority (74.4%) had a negative perception of the disruption and experienced a negative effect (71.6%) on their psychological well-being due to the disruption. The precautionary practices towards the disruption common among the respondents were regular washing of hands (95.2%), maintenance of physical distancing (88.0%), and excessive sleeping and relaxing (87.2%) among others. The results showed that at p<0.05, perception towards social disruption (r= 0.483), and farming experience (r=0.322) had a significant relationship with the effect of social disruption on their psychological well-being. Therefore, the null hypotheses were rejected for the perception of social disruption and farming experience. The study concluded that the social disruption harmed the psychological well-being of the rural youth and it recommended the integration of mental health support should be included in the agricultural extension messages and programmes.