JohnBosco Chika Chukwuorji

JohnBosco Chika Chukwuorji
University of Nigeria | UNN · School of Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy

About

159
Publications
58,678
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1,688
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Introduction
JohnBosco Chika Chukwuorji, a Fulbright scholar, works at the University of Nigeria. His ressearch focuses on how individual-level and social-level cultural processes and pathways influence mental well-being across the life course; and also finding innovative approaches to provide quality mental healthcare for underserved populations and marginalised communities. He is the Editor of Nigerian Journal of Psychological Research (Founded in 1986).
Additional affiliations
April 2023 - April 2025
Michigan State University
Position
  • PostDoc Position
Education
April 2023 - April 2025
Michigan State University
Field of study
  • Implementation science
August 2019 - July 2020
Cleveland State University
Field of study
  • Clinical psychology
October 2015 - July 2021
University of Nigeria
Field of study
  • Clinical psychology

Publications

Publications (159)
Article
Previous research demonstrates that social support facilitates successful aging across all cultures. However, the factors that potentially mediate the link between social support and successful aging remain unclear. This study examined whether a healthy lifestyle and self-esteem mediate the association between social support and successful aging. I...
Article
Suicidal behaviour in older adults is a fundamental public health problem globally and the highest suicide rates occur in the low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, there is limited research on suicidality among older adults especially in sub-Saharan Africa. We sought to find out whether loneliness, stress and religiosity would signific...
Article
Aging in sub-Saharan Africa is a relatively neglected area of research despite the increasing proportion of the population aging. This collection of papers highlights how the varied cultures in sub-Saharan Africa shape development in later adulthood and emphasizes the critical need for research on aging to consider the sociocultural context. First,...
Article
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Background The COVID-19 pandemic heightened anxiety levels globally, disproportionately affecting low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Physical activity (PA) has shown potential to alleviate mental health challenges, including anxiety. This study explores the relationship between PA and anxiety among Tanzanian adults during the pandemic, examin...
Article
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We examined whether the salutogenic nature of resilience is the pathway of association, as well as a moderating factor, between spirituality and vicarious posttraumatic growth (VPTG). Two hundred Nigerian orthopedic nurses completed the Resilience Scale (RS-14), Spiritual Involvement and Belief Scale-Revised (SIBS-R), and Posttraumatic Growth Inven...
Chapter
The Concept of Diminishing Life Space posits that neighbourhoods facing health and social threats (i.e., war or violence, climate change, extreme industrialisation, and outbreaks of infectious diseases) may make them unable to support “ageing in place”. Older victims of these threats are less capable of utilising neighbourhood resources (e.g., serv...
Article
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We examined the associations between sense of community (SoC) and multidimensional academic engagement, including whether meaning in life and subjective well-being mediate the relationships. Participants were Nigerian students who completed the Classroom Sense of Community Inventory–School Form (CSCI-SF), Meaning in Life Questionnaire’s (MLQ) Prese...
Article
Full-text available
Living with chronic health conditions such as HIV has implications for health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and improving the HRQoL of people living with HIV (PLWH) is becoming increasingly important for researchers, policymakers, and health practitioners. However, there is limited research on factors that help to explain HRQoL among persons with...
Article
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Fear of success is a negative experience which influences satisfaction with life and overall wellbeing. Socio-demographic factors (e.g., age and gender) and self-esteem have been found to be associated with fear of success. However, whether gender and age influence how self-esteem is liked to fear of success has received little attention. We examin...
Article
Suicidal behavior in older adults is a fundamental public health problem globally and the highest suicide rates occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, there is limited research on suicidality among older adults, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. We sought to find out whether loneliness, stress and religiosity would be associate...
Article
The Nigerian Civil War (or Nigerian-Biafran War, 1967–1970) was fought between the Nigerian federal government and the defunct Republic of Biafra. Biafra recruited young men and boys (child soldiers) to fight the war, but little attention has been given to understanding the mental health outcomes of the War on Biafran veterans. Although there are f...
Chapter
Full-text available
Formal training of psychologists in Nigeria started in 1964 with the first department of psychology at the University of Nigeria Nsukka. Currently, about 58 of 264 universities approved by the National Universities Commission award psychology degrees. All psychology students must write a project/thesis for either the B.Sc., postgraduate diploma, M....
Article
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Background Emerging research indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions led to decreased physical activity levels and poorer health globally. However, most studies on this topic have focused on advanced countries, leaving a gap in understanding the impact in countries like Ghana. This study aimed to fill this gap by assessing...
Article
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Although research has shown that moral distress harms mental health in diverse populations , information on potential moderators of such associations is scarce. In a sample of sub-Saharan African nurses, we examined the link between moral distress and depressive symptoms. We explored for whom and when such relationships may hold with regard to gend...
Preprint
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Recent cross-sectional and experimental research has found measures of climate change related distress to be positively associated with measures of self-efficacy. Authors of some of these studies have interpreted this finding in terms of motivated control, that is, people who experience climate change related distress are motivated to believe that...
Article
Background and Objectives Previous research demonstrates that social support facilitates successful aging across all cultures. However, the factors that potentially mediate the link between social support and successful aging remain unclear. This study examined whether a healthy lifestyle and self-esteem mediate the association between social suppo...
Article
Full-text available
The mediating role of mindfulness on the relationship between age and affect (both positive and negative) has been established in Western samples. However, these associations have not been well considered within additional cultural contexts. The present study examined whether mindfulness mediates the relationship between increased age and both posi...
Article
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We examined the contributions of health locus of control (internal, external), personality traits, and social support in treatment adherence among Nigerian diabetic patients (N = 126; females = 49.21%, Type 1 diabetes = 58.73%, Type 2 diabetes = 41.27%; age range: 20 to 76 years). They completed measures of health locus of control, personality trai...
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This study investigated the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on mathematics anxiety among students in Nigerian secondary schools. Eighty-six senior secondary class one students (aged 15–16 years) participated, comprising 43 students allocated to the experimental group and 43 students allocated to the control group. Mathematics a...
Article
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Background There is overwhelming evidence indicating that depression may be reduced by physical activity (PA), but studies in lower- and middle-income countries and those that involved data at higher physical activity doses were underrepresented. The current study investigated the associations between PA levels (vigorous, moderate, walking and sitt...
Article
Full-text available
Objectives: Our paper highlights areas of interest to psychologists studying aging in Africa and what has already been learned about aspects of psychological aging from studies done in the African context. We also considered whether there are issues that are unique about aging in the African context that might challenge how aging is typically cons...
Article
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A fundamental requirement for proper measurement of well-being in diverse contexts is the appropriate translation of well-being measures into the languages spoken by the specific population. This paper aims to identify measures of well-being that have been translated into African languages up to the year 2019 and make suggestions for researchers wh...
Article
The much we know about the mental health of internally displaced persons (IDPs) today comes from studies conducted with IDPs who stay in displacement camps. Little is known about IDPs’ mental health and experiences living outside the camps. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of IDPs living outside displacement camps in Nigeria. P...
Article
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Background: Evidence from Euro-American and Eastern cultures suggest that parenting practices are linked to diverse problems, including aggression in youths. Findings from the sub-Saharan region rarely contribute to this debate. Method: We examined the contributions of Baumrind's parenting style typology to overt aggression among Nigerian adolescen...
Technical Report
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In pursuit of an enhanced Nigerian society characterized by solutions to ethnic concerns, security challenges, and national progress, the Nigerian Psychological Association (NPA) convened its annual National Scientific Conference and Annual Congress from August 21st to 25th, 2023. The event took place at the Auditorium I, Faculty of the Social Scie...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background: Emerging research has suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions and lockdown resulted in decreasing physical activity levels and poor health globally. Most of the studies reporting on the pandemic and physical activity were from advanced countries. This study assessed self-perceived health status and physical...
Technical Report
Full-text available
Psychology 10th Annual Departmental Conference 2023, themed "NATIONAL WELL-BEING" at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka was indeed a huge success. The conference witnessed excellent research abstracts numbering over one hundred (100) from within the country and beyond. The opening ceremony was hybrid while the scientific session was completely virtu...
Article
Professional caregivers of psychiatric patients are often exposed to circumstances and environments that threaten their mental well-being in the course of carrying out their professional duties. In this study, we examined the mediating role of emotion regulation in the association between mindfulness and mental well-being among professional caregiv...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background There is overwhelming evidence indicating that depression may be reduced by physical activity (PA) but studies in lower- and middle-income countries and those that involved data at higher physical activity doses were underrepresented. The current study investigated the associations between PA levels (vigorous, moderate, walking and sitti...
Chapter
Full-text available
The purpose of this chapter is to extend and explore the definition of collective hope as the shared desire for a better future not only for oneself, but for the entire social community, the belief that a better future for all is possible but not necessarily guaranteed or even likely, and the trust in the human capacity to cooperate and support eac...
Chapter
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This chapter presents selected results of the Hope Barometer survey during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. Against the background of the intense feelings of stress and anxiety in these times of crisis, we first review current theories on psychological stress and coping, present results of our empirical studies during the pandemic and then focu...
Chapter
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The current chapter is dedicated to the exploration of different sources and activities of hope across countries. In particular, we explore how these serve as expressions of trust and confidence in the availability of resources, nourishing the belief in the feasibility and supporting the realization of wished-for goods considered to be possible, al...
Article
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Objective: Vaccines are an effective means to reduce the spread of diseases, but they are sometimes met with hesitancy that needs to be understood. Method: In this study, we analyzed data from a large, cross-country survey conducted between June and August 2021 in 43 countries (N = 15,740) to investigate the roles of trust in government and science...
Chapter
Background: The teaching profession is considered as one of the most highly stressful professions. Indeed, teachers from many countries report high levels of stress and low levels of subjective well-being (e.g., low levels of positive affect and high levels of negative affect). In this context, a teachers’ affective profile might be an indication o...
Article
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Environmental identities and attitude towards oil pipeline vandalism in Niger Delta oil-producing communities were examined to show whether low environmental identity is associated with an environmentally destructive attitude, as well as how such issues may be connected with incidents of oil pipeline vandalism in the area. A survey of youths (N = 6...
Article
Some mental health interventions have addressed mental health among people living with HIV (PLWH) using a variety of approaches, but little is known about the details of such interventions in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), a region that bears the largest burden of HIV in the world. The present study describes mental health interventions for PLWH in SSA...
Article
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The study investigated parenting styles, perceived stress, and media exposure as predictors of adolescent aggression. Three hundred and ninety-four (394) secondary school students participated in this study in Nsukka geographical areas. A convenient sampling method was employed in selecting the participants. Four instruments were used in the study:...
Article
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In populations from sub-Saharan African countries, depression is underdiagnosed and undertreated. Depressive symptoms are particularly prevalent and heterogeneous among young adults. In this study conducted among Nigerian young adults, we used computational network approaches to disclose the most central depressive symptoms and the probabilistic de...
Technical Report
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The 9th annual conference of the Department of Psychology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka was held on December 1-3, 2023. The theme of the conference was “Leadership, Insecurity and Livelihood in the 21st Century”. The conference chair was the Director of Research in the University of Nigeria, Prof. Obinna Onwujekwe, FAS. In his opening remarks, the...
Article
Evidence has shown that social anxiety significantly influences internet addiction among adolescent students. However, the boundary conditions that strengthen or weaken this association with internet addiction have not been fully understood, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. This study adopted a cross-sectional survey design to investigate the dire...
Chapter
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Understanding the role of psychological science in shaping human behaviour towards promoting and maintaining a healthy environment is critical to a safe, sustainable, and balanced ecosystem in Africa. In addition to addressing the negative impact of climate change on physical and mental health, psychologists can help build resilience to mitigate th...
Article
This study explored the correlates of climate anxiety in a diverse range of national contexts. We analysed cross-sectional data gathered in 32 countries (N = 12,246). Our results show that climate anxiety is positively related to rate of exposure to information about climate change impacts, the amount of attention people pay to climate change infor...
Article
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Previous research suggests that cognitive reappraisal (CR) and expressive suppression (ES) strategies of emotion regulation (ER) are associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and posttraumatic growth (PTG). How the patterns of these associations may vary in the context of event centrality (EC) however requires investigation to help delin...
Conference Paper
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The traditional mode of conferencing by the Department of Psychology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka was physical attendance, but the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic popularized the use of virtual platforms for conferences and other academic programs. Hence, the 2020 annual conference of the Department was held virtually on November 24, 2020. The Con...
Article
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In Nigeria, the relationship between mindfulness and postpartum depression and anxiety has gone largely unexamined. A cross-sectional study of 309 randomly selected nursing mothers was conducted at two tertiary health institutions using the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The study sought to determine if...
Article
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Early detection and treatment of psychological morbidity have been associated with reduction in long-term disability and increase in total well-being of amputees. However, much attention have been focused on the management of the physical disability with little interest on differences in distress on account of socio-demographic factors such as gend...
Article
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Research has shown that trauma exposure is associated with increased symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, knowledge is sparse on whether there are differential predictions of specific clusters of PTSD symptoms by trauma exposure. We investigated the rate of trauma exposure and prevalence of PTSD as well as the contributions of...
Article
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During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVIDiSTRESS Consortium launched an open-access global survey to understand and improve individuals' experiences related to the crisis. a year later, we extended this line of research by launching a new survey to address the dynamic landscape of the pandemic. this survey was released with the goal of a...
Article
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The Big Five Inventory-10 (BFI-10; Rammstedt & John, 2007) is one of many short versions of personality inventories that measure the Big Five trait dimensions. Short versions of scales often present methodological challenges as a trade-off for their convenience. Based on samples from 28 countries (N = 10,560), the current study investigated inter-i...
Chapter
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Extensive literature has shown the importance of attachment security in psychological well-being (PWB) of several populations, but the impacts of attachment on PWB in African populations have received less attention, and there is no previous research which have considered the adult attachment and PWB in the context of medical education. The present...
Article
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There is limited capacity and infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa to conduct clinical trials for the identification of efficient and effective new prevention, diagnostic and treatment modalities to address the disproportionate burden of disease. This paper reports on the process to establish locally driven infrastructure for multicentre research a...
Article
While substantial literature suggests that positive preferences are in the service of emotion regulation pursuits, little evidence has directly linked positivity "processes" with well-being "outcomes." The current study examined age-related differences in negative gaze preferences and how such preferences are related to subsequent regulatory outcom...
Article
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Our study examined the roles of parenting styles and social interaction anxiety in problematic internet use (PIU) in a sample of Nigerian undergraduate students (n = 300; female = 63.3%; mean age = 19.66 years, SD = 2.64 years). The students completed the Parenting Style Inventory II (PS-II), the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, and the Generalise...
Preprint
Full-text available
This study explored the antecedents and outcomes of negative emotional responses to climate change among people from a diverse range of cultural and national contexts. We analysed cross-sectional data gathered in 28 countries (N = 10,963). Our results show that negative emotional responses to climate change are positively related to the amount of a...
Article
Introduction: Existing literature shows that self-concealment increases the risk for substance use while self-compassion protects against substance use, but less is known about possible gender differences that can potentially determine the prediction of substance use by these variables. This study investigated the roles of self-concealment and self...
Article
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This study examined the role of different psychological coping mechanisms in mental and physical health during the initial phases of the COVID-19 crisis with an emphasis on meaning-centered coping. Method: A total of 11,227 people from 30 countries across all continents participated in the study and completed measures of psychological distress (dep...
Article
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Background: School health programs need to target all aspects of physical, psychological, and social well-being. Using a slightly modified version of the COSMIN Risk of Bias checklist, we developed and conducted the first validation of the School Health Assessment Tool for Primary Schools (SHAT-PS). Method: The exploratory sequential mixed method...
Article
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Adolescents’ dating violence is a public health concern due to its damaging consequences on the wellbeing of individuals involved and the possible risk of progression into adulthood. Previous studies have established links between substance use and exposure to media violence on adolescents’ dating violence, but little is known about the disposition...
Article
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We seek to strengthen understanding of the health needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in contexts of conflict or violence. Based upon a scoping review, our paper identified limited evidence on IDPs health, but nevertheless indicates that IDPs tend to experience worse health outcomes than other conflict-affected populations across a range o...
Article
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Empirical studies in western and non-western cultures support the link between self-disclosure and intimacy. However, certain factors may either strengthen or weaken the relationship between online self-disclosure and intimacy. Due to the pervasive nature of information and communication technology (ICT) and the social media, the present study exam...
Article
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Psychoactive substance users and those having irrational beliefs tend to report more suicide ideation; however, there is paucity of research on substance use and distorted cognitions in relation to suicidality among gamblers. The possibility of a moderated mediation model has not been examined. This study examines substance use as a mechanism expla...
Article
Existing literature has documented strong associations between families’ socio-economic conditions and children’s experiences of child abuse and neglect (CAN), including physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Even though the broader approach to family poverty and child poverty may overlap, they do not always have the same indices, implying that the...
Article
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Research evidence indicates that religious commitment and social support has impact on mental health across diverse population, Impact of social support and religious commitment of Psychiatric patients' caregivers has been give little research attention in Nigeria. The present study examined the association of social support, hardiness and religiou...
Article
Full-text available
Background/Objective This study examined the role of different psychological coping mechanisms in mental and physical health during the initial phases of the COVID-19 crisis with an emphasis on meaning-centered coping. Method A total of 11,227 people from 30 countries across all continents participated in the study and completed measures of psycho...
Article
Full-text available
People living with HIV (PLWH) may experience death anxiety (DA), which can be detrimental to quality of life. Posttraumatic growth (PTG), however, is antithetical to DA, with its positive attributes at odds with negative psychosocial outcomes. Previous research has not examined the buffering effect of PTG on the association between DA and quality o...
Article
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The view that depressive symptoms stem from mental simulations and reactions over outcome of life events has dominated therapeutic discuss for decades. Research lines provide evidences that mental simulations over past events contribute to these symptoms. The present study examined two forms of mental simulations-counterfactual thoughts and regret...
Article
The theory of transformative learning (TL) has been criticized secondhand for its lack of clarity in capturing and explaining in detail the processes undergone by learners who are going through TL experiences and their link to learning outcomes. Using a case study design, and carefully synthesized TL processes (TLPs) from Mezirow’s TL theory, we pr...
Article
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Substantial evidence indicates that adolescents and young adults have a disproportionately high incidence of most forms of violence, including suicide. Suicidality often includes suicidal ideation. The present study examined the relationship between bullying and suicidal ideation, and further tested whether social support moderates the association...
Article
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Climate change threatens mental health via increasing exposure to the social and economic disruptions created by extreme weather and large-scale climatic events, as well as through the anxiety associated with recognising the existential threat posed by the climate crisis. Considering the growing levels of climate change awareness across the world,...