Social Media Insecurity and Intimate Partner Violence: Drug Use As an Escape Route

ABSTRACT

The study examined social media insecurity and intimate partner violence as determinants of drug use. This prospective cohort study purposively recruited 387 married population with 54 of them re-enrolled in intervention therapy. Multilinear regressions and paired sample t-test were employed. Social media insecurity was an independent predictor of drug use; the higher the level of social media insecurity, the more participants used drugs whereas intimate partner violence did not predict drug use. The paired t-test showed a significant reduction in drug use after the eclectic therapy, which involved integrative coping skills, drug counseling/education and family therapy, aimed at reducing harms.

KEYWORDS:

• Drug use
• eclectic therapy
• escape route
• intimate partner violence
• social media inseccurity

Introduction

Social media insecurity contextually refers to the state of anxiety, emotional withdrawal, relational apathy, uncertainty and unprotected people feel or suffer due to pathological smartphone use by those in intimate relationship which may give rise to violence with drug use as a coping strategy. Related studies showed that undue use of smartphones is capable of generating symptoms akin to mental disorder and insecure emotional state that could result in drug abuse and other behavioral problems (Pera, 2020; Okechukwu et al., 2022). Interactions that occur within social media environments come with both positive and negative outcomes, but the focus of this study in on the latter aspect as nuanced in the topic of interest. Events that occur on social media domains are not without their negative pulls and influences on such social phenomena as drug use, violence, and strained intimate partner affiliations. Pathological or extreme use of smartphone on social media platforms has been linked to some degree of uncertainty, suspicion and insecurity between people in intimate partner relationships, particularly husbands and wives (see Editorial, 2017; Hossain & Munam, 2022; Okechukwu et al., 2022; Romer & Moreno, 2017). Further interpretations to this is that the unsecured tends to unleash violence on the social media users who, in turn, use drugs to assuage the perpetrated abuse, trauma and other harms.

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), as used in this study, explains the maltreatment, aggression and violent behavior that occur between people who are married, cohabiting, dating, or in any other form of intimate relationship. Victims and offenders usually share some degree of familiarity and intimacy, but violence is released when personal, relational, financial, social, emotional or romantic tie is perceived to have been broken or strained. The incidence of IPV cuts across societies, taking several dimensions, such as sexual, emotional, physical, psychological, economic, and human rights abuses (Effiong et al., 2017; Itimi et al., 2014; World Health Organisation [WHO], 2017). What has yet to receive sufficient scholarly and policy attention in Nigeria is the probability that people who face social media insecurity and the resulting IPV may attempt to find an outlet or escape pathway through the use of drugs, similar to how people who are medically unwell take drugs in order to get well.

The problem is escalating and yet there is limited empirical evidence leading to nuanced understanding of its complexities in most African countries, particularly Nigeria, so filling in the gaps becomes imperative. As such, conducting this research will assist immensely in increasing awareness and reinforcing existing interventional frameworks and responses. More scarce are homegrown interventional studies that attempts to seek for practical solutions on the problem and population surveyed. As a disproportionate and underexplored subject in sub-Sharan Africa, the current research is designed to determine how drug use as a criterion (dependent) variable could result in IPV occasioned by social media insecurity (independent variables). In other words, understanding the connections between social media insecurity that culminates into IPV and drug use as an escape route would appropriately guide researchers and policymakers in building robust interventions and programmes to support at risk individuals and couples.

The foregoing is a strong indication that the subject matter is under-investigated, and available scientific literature comparatively lopsided, in that is mostly of Western sources (for a few examples, see Rivera et al., 2015; Romer & Moreno, 2017; C. R. Costello & Ramo, 2017; Cafferky et al., 2018; Gadd et al., 2019; Ogden et al., 2022; Gilchrist et al., 2022; etc). The identified gaps in knowledge spurred the researchers’ interest to further interrogate this ignored, but possibly, essential area of research and practice in African social psychology, sociology, criminology and criminal justice. It is on accounts of the foregoing that this research is conducted to empirically measure and analyze the impacts of social media insecurity on IPV and how the two phenomena jointly predict drug use among married persons in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The following hypotheses were proposed for testing and discussion:

1. Hi Social media insecurity and IPV will significantly predict drug use among the sample population in such a way that high levels of social media insecurity will precipitate high levels of drug use; and

2. Hii Introduction of the intervention (eclectic) therapy will significantly result in the reduction of drug use among the population surveyed.

Literature review

The review is largely premised on related literature, since there is no past studies precisely on the topic. Even existing related scholarship is disproportionate and understudied – much of the evidence are found in studies conducted outside Nigeria. A similar recent study that recruited 288 young adults to ascertained the impacts of drug use problems emanating from pathological use of mobile phones showed neural health symptoms responsible therewith (Okechukwu et al., 2022). The issue of IPV leading up to drug use and vice versa postulation (i.e., drug use causing IVP) is growing and yet data explaining the association between the two constructs are seriously lacking in Nigeria (see Effiong et al., 2017; Oseni et al., 2022 for exemption). On the other hand, the phenomenon has been documented in the Western literature in some depth (e.g., Lipsky et al., 2010; Rivera et al., 2015; Cafferky et al., 2018; Gadd et al., 2019; Gilchrist et al., 2022; Hossain & Munam, 2022; Ogden et al., 2022; etc).

Rather, what exists in Nigeria are studies that explored IPV and patterns of coping (Itimi et al., 2014); social media usage and addiction level (Idubor, 2015); pattern of drug use and IPV (Effiong et al., 2017); behavioral addiction and drug use (Imbur et al., 2021); and impacts of social media use on the abuse of drugs (Eze, 2023). What is more, Effiong et al. (2017) sampled 249 residents of Uyo in Nigeria, and after measuring their level of drug use and partner violence, they found that drug use predicted partner violence. Sanni and Aransi (2020) investigated perceived psychological factors and its effects on drug use among 200 youths, and results showed that family influence, traumatic life events, and social media influenced youths’ drug use. As essential as these works are, none of them specifically examined social media insecurity as a motivation for IPV and then illicit drug use as a solution to IPV.

Granted that IPV is a global mental and human rights concern, but the crime is more prevalent in the developing world and against women. It is the primary problem facing societies and the most discussed subject that appears to be suppressed and hardly documented or reported in several countries of the world, especially Africa (WHO, 2013, 2017). Research shows that IPV perpetrated by men is caused by many factors. For example, evidence from previous research revealed that 18% of male participants linked their violent behavior to the act of jealousy (which can be caused by social media insecurity), difficulties in communication (22%), retaliation/punishment against their partner (19%), and desire to control partner (16%) (Elmquist et al., 2014). Globally, about 30% of women—25% in Europe and 23% in rich countries – have experienced intimate partner violence (WHO, 2013; Patra et al., 2018).

Worldwide, both extant and current statistics indicate that married women or women in intimate relationships were more likely to experience a high lifetime occurrence of IPV of 15%-71% (Ellsberg et al., 2008; Itimi et al., 2014). The trend is 87% in Jordan (Al-Nsour et al., 2009) and 4% in the United Kingdom (John et al., 2004). Statistics from women in Utah relating to IPV indicates a 33.6% sexual and physical violence, in addition to stalking by an intimate partner while United States was 37.3% (Smith et al., 2017; Utah Women and Leadership Project, 2023). And 11–52% occurs in countries of sub-Sahara Africa (Okenwa et al., 2009), with increasing prevalence rates in Nigerian States – Nnewi: 46% (Johnson & Leonne, 2005) and Zaria: 28% (Ameh et al., 2007). Although most of the statistics are extant (.i.e., old but relevant), recent data on the phenomenon is largely found in Western studies. These further speak volumes about the consistent lack of current statistics and empirical literature that specifically link IPV to social media insecurity or vice versa and the resulting drug use in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Nigeria. Closing the gap in literature by conducting this study is imperative and timely, as its findings will bring to the fore the gradations and complexities of the three variables under consideration for better preventive responses and case management, control.

Furthermore, the figures might be the smaller perceptible of a much larger problem of IPV that remains scientifically unknown, occasioned by the growing indifferent attitudes of most Nigerians toward (interpersonal) crime reporting. It could also stem from the lack of formalized, centralized database in Nigeria and other parts of Africa, or probably because of the culture of silence due to fear of stigma, discrimination and further attacks. Another justification for lack of data is founded on the sociocultural belief that “what takes place” within the family circles or intimate partnership settings should be kept confidential and tolerated by parties involved (see also Nnam, 2015). Linking social media to drug use, as evidenced by a study conducted at the Columbia University, C. R. Costello and Ramo (2017), revealed that teenagers who use social media were more likely to use drugs than their counterparts.

People with societal influence promotes drugs use through the social media and makes drug use to appear like fun or something healthy (Hilliard, 2019). Many psychoactive drugs have a strong social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and social media platforms, especially in advanced countries, where they showcase their products with attendant psychosocial consequences (see also Jernigan & Rushman, 2013). Again, to state the obvious, data-based research on the subject is grossly insufficient in Nigeria, and this lacuna calls for additional and inclusive study on the problem to advance new knowledge and support existing interventions and responses. Based on this, and the desire to reduce harms, the current study is carried out to examine the links between social media insecurity, IPV and drug use among married persons. Although related and important, none of the reviewed works integrated social media insecurity into the widely studied IPV-drug use nexus. Thus, combining these three variables – social media insecurity, IPV and drug us – is aimed at closing the gap in literature and to effectively grapple with the problem and increase the novelty and significance of the current study.

Methods

Design and setting

The study utilized a prospective cohort survey design, which is an observational study structured to trail a homogenous group of participants over a specified period of time by collecting data on their exposure to a factor of interest (which in this study is the intervention strategy). The research was carried out in Uyo Local Government Area (LGA) of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria which is situated globally “between latitude 5.05º North and longitude 7.50º East within the equatorial rainforest belt” (Udoh et al., 2013, p. 13). The city is both a State capital and LGA headquarters, with a population of 309,573.

Procedure

Purposive sampling method was used to recruit employees in private and civil/public service (schools, ministries, companies, parastatals, banks, etc.), who met the inclusion criteria of being married or in a relationship with an opposite gender. Purposive sampling is a type of nonprobability sampling strategy that is used in a study to recruit people who have features that the researchers need in the sample. The reason for recruiting only married people was because empirical literature is awash with studies of IPV, social media and drug use enrolling unmarried people as participants (see Sanni & Aransi, 2020; Lmbur et al., 2021; Aderibigbe et al., 2022; Okechukwu et al., 2022; etc), with little study enlisting married people.

Three research assistants were recruited and assisted in the data collection. Several earlier engaged participants were requested to participate in the interventional stage; some of them volunteered and consented, while many recused for reasons ranging from time constraints to lack of interest. Those who participated were compensated, reimbursed with the sum of One Thousand Naira (N1,000.00, equivalent to $3.00) each to augment their cost of transportation. The reimbursement was done after the data collection so as not to influence the participants and/or their responses. A total of 405 copies of the questionnaire were administered, but 397 were returned with 10 incorrectly completed and rejected. The remaining 387 (final sample size) copies, which represent a return rate of 95.56%, were then subjected to data analysis.

Some studies have proved the efficacy of group therapy in handling drug-related problems. For instance, López et al. (2021) reviewed 50 studies to investigate the potency of group therapies with respect to drug use and found that a couple of psychological therapies were quite effective in reducing illicit drug use. In view of the norm score of 17.12 in the present study, the researchers observed that 180 married persons, out of the 387 surveyed, were struggling with drug abuse. This translates to a drug abuse prevalence rate of 46.5%. Therefore, a “triangular interventional strategy” was adopted to help such individuals. Given the large number of persons surveyed, efforts were made to reduce the number of participants to be recruited for the group therapy to a manageable size. Hence, the participants' scores on drug use were reorganized from the highest to the least, and recall were made to the first 90 participants on the list (i.e., half of the original 180 participants that were found to be struggling with drug abuse) in order to seek their consent. They participated in a 2-hour bi-weekly group therapy session which lasted for six weeks, totaling an average of 24 hours or a cumulative of one day group therapy. This is similar to the studies of Des Jarlais et al. (1992), and Compton et al. (2000).

From the recall, 55 persons accepted to be part of the study, but one person later declined for pecuniary reasons, representing an intervention response rate of 54(60%). Three types of therapies were combined for a more effective intervention outcome, such as coping skills (i.e., seeking safety skills), drug counseling, and family therapies. Intervention activities of the first week centered on introduction, establishment of rapport, and building of trust with the participants. They were further briefed on the contents of the programme and their right to withdraw at any point in time if they feel uncomfortable, as well as confidentiality and anonymity of information provided guaranteed. The participants were educated on the importance of wellbeing and sound mental health, and the need for them to be involved in the intervention. On the first day, participants were given opportunity to ask questions and then were dismissed after answers were supplied. On the second and third weeks, participants were trained on “coping skills” which incorporated aspects of adapting well, thought process and affect in interpersonal relationships, included approaches to know self-better, self-love and life generally (Beck, 1970). Coping skills involved seeking safety and connotes an empowerment-based and present-focused therapy that is anchored in adjusting positively, and taking conscious steps to protect self; this skill harps on the relevance of being safe within interpersonal relationships (Najavits, 2002). During the second and third week sessions, oral assignments were given to participants and were first addressed subsequent week before the main activity for that week.

The second therapy, drug counseling, looked at an intervention that aims at building the discipline of abstinence and encouraging social support achieved through presentation of facts to participants on the health and psychological effects that drug misuse can portend for someone who indulges in the act, and allowing them to internalize the consequences for a much better informed decision to discontinue (Greenfield et al., 2007). This second stage of the intervention was conducted on the fourth week and followed similar pattern with the exercises of previous weeks. The third interventional programme was the family therapy, which implies a family-based intervention programme, whose focus was to transform parenting and interactions in the family (Liddle et al., 2001). This was conducted in the fifth week, and participants at this stage became more interested in the skills they had acquired, with the resulting positive effects on them, as some of them were asked to share their experiences during the session.

The sixth week covered the summary of what were learnt in the previous weeks and distribution of free copies of the materials to participants, so that they could make future reference to the various steps required to experience desistence from illicit drug use. Opportunity for questions and answers/free speeches were given to participants. Immediately after the 6 weeks of inculcating these skills to all the participants, the DUDIT instrument was re-administered to the 54 participants before they were disengaged and their data sent for further analysis. The 54 participants were measured twice: Before the intervention and after the intervention. They were trained on these three programmes systematically (one after another) for the duration of the six weeks. The intervention was conducted by three professionals with practical experience in behavioral modifications and a good background in Clinical Psychology. These professionals were formally engaged and later remunerated for this specific exercise.

Measures

Three measures with four sections were used for data collection. Section A consists of respondents’ sociodemographic variables, such as marital status, gender, age, family type, and duration of marriage, and they were measured using response options reported under the Table 1 in the result Section. Section B is the Social Media Insecurity Scale (SMIS) which was developed by the researchers to fit into the present study and originally contained 12-item. However, the items were later reduced to 9 after validations, meaning that SMIS is a-9-item scale. Developing the SMIS scale is premised on the fact that there is no suitable social media insecurity instrument that exactly measured the construct in line with the operational definition of the variable in the introductory section. This standardized scale was developed before undertaking the main study. The SMIS was used in this study to measure the extent to which married men and women engaged in social media emotionally insecure activities, including phone calls and text messages used to monitor and control one another, as well as engaged in violent behaviors like IPV.

Table 1. Table of frequencies and percentages showing demographic characteristics of respondents (n = 387).

Variables	n	%
Age
Age range			20 to 63 years
Mean age			39.03 years
SD			7.49
Total	387	100.0
Gender
Male	148	38.2
Female	239	61.8
Total	387	100.0
Marital Status
Married	368	95.1
Separated	19	4.9
Total	387	100.0
Family Type
Monogamy	339	87.6
Polygamy	48	12.4
Total	387	100.0
Duration of Marriage
1–10 years	225	58.1
11–20 years	116	30.0
21 years & above	46	11.9
Study Variables	Range	Mean	SD
Drug use	0–44	17.12	11.95
IPV	5–22	15.15	3.27
Social media insecurity	7–25	17.75	6.76

SD = Standard Deviation.

Items in the SMIS were directly scored, and they include: item 1 = “I get angry and unsatisfied when my spouse stops me from receiving gifts from an acquaintance on social media,” item 2 = “My spouse complain bitterly about the time I spend on social media,” item 3 = “Most times I feel bad when my spouse restrain me from chatting on social media,” item 4 = “My spouse has neglected me because of my relationship with others on social media,” item 5 = “I was hit by my partner for receiving WhatsApp calls from a friend on social media,” item 6 = “I have physically abused my spouse for monitoring or tracking my interaction on social media,” item 7 = “Regularly, I questioned my spouse for neglecting his or her marital responsibilities because of social media use,” item 8 = “On several times, I have had conflicts or argument with my spouse because of his or her social media use,” item 9 = “My spouse is always moody each time I am on social media,” and item 10 = “My spouse feels threatened or insecure when I am on social media chatting with a member of the opposite sex.”

The scale made use of a 3-point Likert response format of “agree, undecided and disagree.” To guarantee the standardization of the instrument, a face and content validity was conducted by three psychometric experts, who vetted and reduced the items from 12 to 10. Face validity is a type of elementary validity that attempts to know whether an instrument is relevant and appropriate for what it purports to measure on the surface level, while content validity evaluates how well an instrument covers the scope of the construct it aims to assess. In order to determine the construct validity of SMIS, an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to measure the “underlying factor structure” of the instrument and enrich the “item pool.” Using this approach, a more systematized assessment and validation of SMIS properties was realized. In the EFA, the factors were extracted using the Principal Components method (PCA) with direct “oblique rotation” due to the fact that is the most relevant technique in the social sciences to employ when factors are assumed to be associated (Beavers et al., 2013; A. B. Costello & Osborne, 2005), as in the current study.

The model fit was measured by the ratio of chi-square to degrees of freedom (X²/df) and communalities. The EFA for the study sample with reference to Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) criterion was .824 and “Bartlett’s test of sphericity” was significant [X2 (df = 45) = 1115.789, p < .001], showing that relationships between SMIS items were adequate to carry out the factor analysis (Arbuckle, 2013; Tabachnick & Fidell, 2013). An analysis of the “scree plot” indicated two factors with eigen values greater than one. Moreover, analysis of the correlation matrix showed no low relationships (i.e., r < .20); howbeit, with a few cross-loadings. Based on Beavers et al. (2013) criteria, items loadings less than .40, having cross-loadings, were expunged to minimize response bias that may arise. Based on these standards, one item (item 5) was removed. The EFA was repeated using the remaining nine (9) items from the earlier 10 items. In the latter, employing principal axis factoring, the KMO became .821, and “Bartlett’s test” was significant [X2 (df = 36) = 930.907, p < .001], representing the factorability of the data (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2013).

Examining the scree plot, again, indicated that two factors should be retained because they reported eigen values greater than one. All factor loadings were greater than .40, as the least was item 7 (.485). Coming as one, the two-factors accounted for 53.4% of the total variance and provided a factor structure solution that could be readily interpreted. Hence, the first factor comprising 5 items (i.e., items 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6) was named “affective confrontation” while the second factor having 4 items (i.e., items 7, 8, 9 and 10) was named “behavioural confrontation.” Also, the SMIS was later correlated to ascertain its discriminant validity with the 13-item Social Media Engagement Scale for Adolescents (SMES-A), as constructed by Ni et al. (2020), was r = −.115, p < .05, indicating a significant divergent validity outcome. The Cronbach’s alpha split half values for the behavioral confrontation and affective confrontation dimensions were 0.711 and 0.770, respectively. Furthermore, the Cronbach’s alpha value for the final version of SMIS was α = 0.81 with a norm value of 24.59.

The Section C comprises the 4-item HITS inventory that measured intimate partner violence as developed by Sherin et al. (1998). The research participants were requested to state the rate at which their partners act in ways such as physically hurting them, insulting or talking down on them, threatening them with harm, and screaming or cursing them. Reliability for HITS was α = 0.52; each item was scored from 1 to 5 (never, rarely, sometimes, fairly often, and frequently). Therefore, scores assigned to HITS tool were in the range of 4–20, with a score higher than 10 regarded as positive or presence of intimate partner violence. The Cronbach’s alpha value for HITS was 0.68 with a norm value of 15.15, and a split half reliability of α = 0.62 for Part A and α = 0.58 for Part B.

The Section D comprises the drug use scale, “Drug Use Disorders Identification Test” (DUDIT), advanced by Berman et al. (2003). The DUDIT has 11 items and is a parallel test to “Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test” (AUDIT) that is aimed at identifying people with drug-related problems. Items 1–9 were scored on a 5-point scale: 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, while items 10 and 11 were scored on a 3-point scale. The highest score of the DUDIT is 44 (i.e., 4 × 11) while the minimum score is 0 (0 × 11). When DUDIT was utilized within a group where drug users were nonexistent, a norm of 6 and above for males with drug issues and a norm of 2 and above for females were adopted (Berman et al., 2003). Previous studies reported DUDIT coefficient alpha of 0.93 (Abikoye and Awopetu (2017) and a similar coefficient of 0.85 (Iloma et al., 2017). Similarly, the present study reported a Cronbach’s alpha of α = 0.93, Split half α = 0.92 and α = 0.82, indicating an acceptable internal consistency.

Data analysis

In analyzing the data, descriptive and inferential statistics were deployed. For the descriptive statistics, percentages, mean, and standard deviation were utilized. For the inferential statistics, multilinear regression and paired sample t-test were employed to test the study’s hypotheses after coding the questionnaires using the IBM SPSS Statistics (version 23) and subjecting the raw data to statistical analysis.

Results

Descriptive statistics in the Table 1 represented the frequency, percentages, mean and standard deviation of sociodemographic data of married people sampled. In sum, a total of 387 respondents, both married men and women, were purposively sampled. Of the 387 participants, 148 (38.2%) were males and 239 (61.8%) were females. Participants’ age range was grouped, beginning from ages 20 to 63 years with a mean age of 39.03 years and standard deviation of 7.49. The participants’ marital status revealed that 368 (95.1%) were married and 19 (4.9%) were separated. With regard to family type, the majority of them (339/87.6%) came from a monogamous homes while 48 (12.4%) were from polygamous families. The descriptive duration of marriage showed that participants categorized from 1–10 years were 225 (58.1%), 11–20 years were 116 (30.0%), and 21 years and above were 46 (11.9%).

Additional descriptive analysis using the item by item analysis indicated that, when participants were examined on the first statement, “I get angry and unsatisfied when my spouse stops me from receiving gifts from an acquaintance on social media,” 114 (29.5%) participants reported that they “agreed” to the statement. Regarding the second statement, “My spouse complains bitterly about the time I spend on social media,” 161 (41.6%) participants responded “agreed” to the statement. On the third statement, 137 (35.4%) respondents maintained “agreed” to the statement that “Most times I feel bad when my spouse restrain me from chatting on social media.” On the fourth statement, “My spouse had neglected me because of my relationship with others on social media,” 165 (42.6%) responded “agree” to the statement.

When respondents were assessed on the sixth statement, “I have physically abused my spouse for monitoring or tracking my interaction on social media,” 127 (32.8%) participants “agreed” to the statement. The participants were assessed on the seventh statement, “Regularly, I questioned my spouse for neglecting his or her marital responsibilities because of social media use,” and 158 (40.9%) “agreed” to this account. With respect to the eight statement, “On several times, I have had conflicts or argument with my spouse because of his or her social media use,” 161 (41.6%) participants reported “agree” to the statement. For the ninth statement, “My spouse is always moody each time I am on social media,” 207 (53.4%) participants also responded “agree” to the statement. Lastly, from the 10th statement, “My spouse feels threatened or insecure when I am on social media chatting with a member of the opposite sex,” the Table showed that 206 (53.2%) of the respondents reported that they “agree” to this statement.

The “enter” model regression results presented in the Table 2 revealed that social media insecurity and IPV gave rise to coefficient multiple correlation (R) of 0.115 and multiple correlation square (R²) of 0.013. The indication is that only 1.3% of the variance in substance use by the respondents was due to the combined effects of predictor variables (i.e., social media insecurity and IPV). Moreso, the results indicated that only social media insecurity was an independent predictor of drug use (β = 0.13; t = 1.94; p < .05) while it was not the same for IPV (β = 0.23 t = 1.22; p > .05). Accordingly, the first hypothesis which stated that social media insecurity and IPV will significantly predict drug use among the sample population in such a way that high levels of social media insecurity will precipitate high levels of drug use was confirmed.

Table 2. Summary of multi-linear regression showing the influence of social media insecurity and attitude toward intimate partner violence on drug use among married persons.

Predictors	Criterion	β	t	Sig.	R	R^2	F	df	Sig.
Constant		9.97	2.85	0.01
SMI	DU	0.13	1.94	0.05	0.115	0.013	2.57	2	0.05
IPV		0.23	1.22	0.22

SMI = Social Media Insecurity; IPV = Intimate Partner Violence; DU = Drug use.

The dependent t-test results in the Table 3 showed the statistics of two (2) different pairs carried out using paired samples t-test. The results revealed that, on the average, there was a lower score on drug use “after” the intervention programme compared to “before” the intervention programme (5.78 vs 27.06). Clearly, a significant reduction of drug use was reported among participants after the 6-weeks intervention. The matched t-test showed a t-value of t = 17.16 with 53 degrees of freedom, which was highly significant with (p < .05). However, a matched t-test correlation found a low positive correlation that is not significant with r = 0.122, p > .05. It can therefore be argued that pairing of data had little or no impact on the power of t-test. In summary, the dependent samples t-test revealed a significant improvement regarding reduction in the use of drug up to 21.28 with a 5% error rate that the difference in mean scores will be between 18.79 and 23.77. As a result, the second hypothesis which stated that introduction of intervention therapy will significantly result in the reduction of drug use among the participants was sustained.

Table 3. Summary of dependent samples t-test showing the paired differences of before and after the “triangular intervention” on married persons with high drug use (n = 54).

Pairing	Conditions	Mean	SD	Correlation	Sig.	PM	t	Sig.
1^st Pair	Before	27.06	8.33	0.12	>0.05	21.28	17.16	<0.05
2^nd Pair	After	5.78	4.85

PM = Paired Mean; SD = Standard Deviation; p < .05* level of significance.

Discussion

The study examined three important variables, social media insecurity, IPV and drug use; the first two coalesced to predict drug use as a potential escape route. The first hypothesis was retained, since social media insecurity and IPV significantly predicted drug use in such a way that high levels of social media insecurity precipitated high levels of drug use. From the first findings, social media insecurity predicted drug use in the population surveyed. This result is consistent with previous works which attest that traumatic life events and accessibility to social media correlate with drug use (Aderibigbe et al., 2022; Effiong et al., 2017; Hossain & Munam, 2022; Okonkwo et al., 2020; Sanni & Aransi, 2020). A surprising feature of the regression results was that, the more time married persons spend on social media, the more insecure they become and the more they resort to the use of psychoactive substances and thus confirming the earlier study of Gilchrist et al. (2022). The study found that social media (in)security and IPV were significant predictors of drug use among married persons, and was supported by previous studies which found links between social media usage, psychosocial factors and substance use (Longest & Kang, 2022; Sanni & Aransi, 2020).

Examining the intervention phase of the study revealed that the second hypothesis, which stated that the introduction of eclectic intervention or therapy will significantly results in the reduction of drug use among the participants, was confirmed. In essence, the study also found that the introduction of an eclectic therapy programme for 6 weeks significantly reduced drug use intake among the select married people enrolled in the second phase of the study. Eclectic therapy or intervention refers to the integration of diverse psychosocial treatment strategies, theoretical perspectives/models or therapeutic approaches to solving multifactorial problems, such as the phenomenon studied. This finding is in consonance with the extensive review conducted by López et al. (2021), who found that a couple of psychological therapies were quite effective in reducing illicit drug use. Even earlier studies, such as Compton et al. (2000) and Greenfield et al. (2007), corroborated our findings.

In addition to the study’s major findings, descriptive item by item analysis results revealed that three statements stood out as having the highest percentage with regard to the effect-level of social media insecurity on drug use. Top on the triangle was the ninth item, “My spouse is always moody each time I am on social media:” 207 (53.4%) participants responded that they “agreed” to the statement. What this means is that a total of 207, out of the 387 original participants, affirmed that their partners felt moody each time they were on social media. This is quite worrisome and appears to be a clear case of severe emotional insecurity and domineering tendency that could escalate to chronic conditions which may exceed prediction of negative behavioral expectations. In other words, there is the possibility that some persons could be in danger of being injured, maimed, or beaten by their partners for a perceived (and often false accusation of) infidelity. This research outcome paralleled the results of Gilchrist et al. (2022), who, among other findings, reported the presence of intimate partner abuse, rule breaking, entrenched substance use pathway, and pathway to generalized violence.

The second aspect of the triangle is the tenth statement, “My spouse feels threatened or insecure when I am on social media chatting with a member of the opposite sex.” A total of 206 (53.2%) participants reported that they “agreed” to this factor, and who affirmed that – in addition to their partners feeling moody whenever they are online – they also felt threatened. Looking at the tenth statement closely, one could draw a correlation from the ninth statement based on the contents or compositions of the two statements as having something in common – the emotional component of abuse. The difference lies thus, while the first was in being moody, the other was in being threatened which could precipitate antisocial, violent behavioral responses. This finding was substantiated by Effiong et al. (2017), who found a preponderance of physical violence among people in romantic relationship. The study of Lmbur et al. (2021) also revealed that substance use takes or has control over prosocial behavior and thus could lead to negative life-events.

The third part of the triangle, which explained social media insecurity and drug use, was the fourth statement: “My spouse had neglected me because of my relationship with others on social media.” A total of 165 (42.6%) participants reported “agreed” on this factor. This statement appears to be the only one, among the three major statements, with an avoidance behavioral aspect of abuse, unlike the other two that tilted toward affect and cognition. Thus, 165, out of the 387 original respondents, admitted that they have experienced emotional abuse or neglect from their spouse due to social media use. The neglect, which was occasioned by increased use of social media, dovetailed with the study of Idubor (2015) who established high increased use of Facebook and Twitter in the social networks reviewed. The work of Longest and Kang (2022) further justified our findings, that the use of social media was directly linked to increased online visibility, which invariably would result in neglecting and abusing the users’ partners.

Conclusion and policy implications for future planning

The study presented empirical evidence that extensively analyzed the roles of social media insecurity and IPV on drug use in married population. As evident in the findings, adopting an eclectic intervention that is laced in coping skills, drug counseling/education and family therapy is necessary, since it has proven to effectively control damage and reduce harms for problematic drug users. The research outcome is evidence-based and theoretically-oriented toward achieving both specific and general deterrent goals. Its outcomes could aid individuals, educators, counselors, policymakers, civil societies, social worker, sociologists, psychologists, criminologists and criminal justice administrators, therapists and researchers in gaining deeper understanding on how the three variables explored could be adequately handled. With the findings, stakeholder are well-equipped to grapple with the problem by strengthening current remedial responses and employing the new practical approaches advanced in the study.

The study advanced social science research methods by introducing a-9-item Social Media Insecurity Scale (SMIS), which is different from social media or social media security measures, with the latter having received much attention in the research and academic space. The scale is new and fitting in gaining nuanced understanding about the emerging diverse patterns of and trends in intimate partner violence bolstered by social media insecurity. The problem did not fit into any existing instrument and thereby require that a new one be developed to effectively and adequately measure the study variables. There is a call to further subject SMIS to continuous empirical tests of validation and reliability by upcoming researchers in diverse disciplines worldwide. Subjecting the scale to additional intellectual and research rigors would deepen and sustain its strengths in relation to authenticity and trustworthiness for global acceptability and applicability in investigating the same or similar phenomenon across cultures and fields of study.

The study limitation revolves around the fact that other variables, such as “locus of control” and “personality factors,” were not explored. Although it was not the direction of this research, exploring these variables is necessary since they provide the capacity to strengthen the present findings with the promise of increasing policy thrust and case management experiences and procedures. Thus, further application of more robust surveys and interviews or other methodologies on the three constructs, as well as measurement of “locus of control” and “personality factors,” are advocated. Bringing all this together, eliciting firsthand information from married persons experiencing drug use could portend serious implications for policy, particularly in the areas of social policy, human rights, public and mental health, political advocacy, and the criminal justice system. It has the assurance of helping professional (marriage) counselors, social workers, clinicians, psychologists, sociologists, criminologists and the clergy to develop, gauge and implement more effective treatment plans and preventive and control programmes for persons in relationships with drug-related problems.

Ethical standards and informed consent

Permission to carry out this study was obtained from the Research and Ethics Committee of Topfaith University, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria while participants’ free and informed consent was obtained through a formal letter attached to the first page of the instruments administered.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

All data that support the findings of this study are readily available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.