SEXUAL REGRET IN EMERGING ADULTHOOD: FAMILIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PREDICTORS AMONG NIGERIAN TERTIARY STUDENTS

Adebunmi O. Oyekola, Toro Adeniyi-Adeyinka

Abstract


Sexual regret has emerged as a meaningful indicator of psychosocial adjustment during emerging adulthood because it reflects how past sexual experiences are evaluated in relation to personal values, identity development, and relationship expectations. Despite growing international interest in the construct, little is known about its developmental and psychological correlates in sub-Saharan Africa. Guided by Emerging Adulthood Theory, this study examined the relationships among parent–adolescent relationship quality, religiosity, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), impulsivity, depression, life values, and sexual regret among emerging adults in Nigerian tertiary institutions. Using a cross-sectional survey design, 360 sexually experienced emerging adults (192 males, 168 females; M = 21.09 years, SD = 3.57) completed standardized measures of the study variables. Pearson correlations, hierarchical multiple regression, and hierarchical moderated regression analyses were conducted. Sexual regret was positively associated with impulsivity and negatively associated with ACEs. Hierarchical regression showed that proximal psychological characteristics explained significant additional variance in sexual regret beyond distal developmental and familial influences (ΔR² = .042, p = .001). In the final model, impulsivity positively predicted sexual regret, whereas ACEs negatively predicted sexual regret. Parent–adolescent relationship quality, religiosity, depression, and life values were not significant independent predictors, and gender did not moderate the relationships between ACEs, impulsivity, and sexual regret. The findings suggest that sexual regret is shaped by both distal developmental and familial influences and proximal psychological characteristics during emerging adulthood. The inverse association between ACEs and sexual regret is consistent with theoretical accounts proposing altered emotional processing following childhood adversity, although this mechanism requires direct empirical investigation. The findings highlight the potential value of trauma-informed sexual health education and self-regulation-focused interventions within university counselling and campus health services.

Keywords


sexual regret; emerging adulthood; adverse childhood experience; impulsivity; Nigeria

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejsss.v9i2.2253

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