Childhood Adversity and Positive Peer Support as Predictors of Psychological Well-being among Adolescents in Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria

The effects of childhood adversity have been identified as a major developmental risk factor with long-term consequences for the psychological functioning of adolescents. Positive peer support has also been recognised as an important social resource that promotes positive mental health. However, there is limited empirical evidence examining the combined effects of childhood adversity and positive peer support on adolescents' psychological well-being, particularly within the Nigerian context. This study investigated the predictive influence of childhood adversity and positive peer support on the psychological well-being of adolescents in Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria, and examined whether positive peer support moderates the relationship between childhood adversity and psychological well-being.
The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional research design. A total of 200 senior secondary school adolescents were selected using a multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire–Short Form, the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, and the Positive Peer Support Scale. Descriptive statistics were employed for data analysis, while Hayes' PROCESS Macro Version 5 (Model 1) with HC3 heteroscedasticity-consistent standard errors was used to test the study hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance.
The findings revealed that childhood adversity negatively and significantly predicted psychological well-being (B = -0.323, p = .012), whereas positive peer support positively and significantly predicted psychological well-being (B = 0.633, p < .001). The interaction between childhood adversity and positive peer support was not statistically significant (B = -0.035, p = .071), indicating that positive peer support did not moderate the relationship between childhood adversity and psychological well-being. These findings suggest that although positive peer support contributes to improved psychological well-being among adolescents, it does not significantly buffer the adverse effects of childhood adversity. The study therefore recommends strengthening school-based interventions that address childhood adversity while promoting supportive peer relationships to enhance adolescents' mental health outcomes.

childhood adversity, positive peer support, psychological well-being, adolescents, moderation, Nigeria.

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