THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL ISOLATION AND DEVIANT BEHAVIOUR AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF BENIN

This study examined the link between social isolation and deviant behaviour among undergraduate students at the University of Benin (UNIBEN). The primary goal was to empirically understand if feelings of loneliness and social disconnection directly led students to engage in harmful, rule-breaking acts, thereby validating existing psychosocial theories in a Nigerian university context. A descriptive survey design was employed, and a structured questionnaire was administered to 148 students who provided valid responses. The results revealed that social isolation was a pervasive issue, showing that the majority of students (81%) felt moderately to highly isolated from the campus community and their peers. The most common form of self-reported deviant behaviour was skipping classes (truancy), reported by 49% of the respondents, followed by general rule-breaking. Crucially, the study found a strong, positive, and statistically significant relationship between the two variables (r = 0.612, p < 0.001), indicating that the more isolated a student felt, the more likely they were to engage in deviant acts. Isolation was confirmed as a major predictive factor for truancy, breaking rules, and substance use. The study recommends that the university should immediately implement structural and social interventions, including creating better welcome programs for new students, starting a mandatory peer mentorship system, improving accessible counselling services, and organizing more frequent social events to help students achieve adequate social integration.