Problem-solving behaviour and substance use: the differential moderating influences of gender and socioeconomic status

Amid Nigeria's socioeconomic crisis, marked by poverty, unemployment, and stagflation, youth substance use poses urgent societal challenges. This exploratory correlational study of 499 Nigerian youths examined how problem-solving behaviour domains interact with gender and socioeconomic status to influence substance use. Results indicated that problem-solving confidence, gender, and socioeconomic status inversely correlated with substance use. While gender showed a small moderating influence on the relationship between problem-solving confidence and substance use, socioeconomic status modestly moderated the association between problem-solving approach-avoidance style and substance use. The modest nature of these correlations and moderations is more indicative of contextual variation rather than evidence of strong moderation effects. This contributes to dominant debates on youth substance use by highlighting gendered and socioeconomic variations in problem-solving pathways. These findings highlight the importance of problem-solving skill development in substance misuse interventions for high-risk youth. Gender-responsive and socioeconomically informed programmes may help address pathways influencing substance use.