Regional Variations in Quality of Life and Social Support Among Nigerian Undergraduates: A Cross-Zonal Analysis

Abstract

Quality of life (QoL) and perceived social support are core indicators of students’ 
functioning in higher education, yet little is known about how these constructs differ across Nigeria’s 
geopolitical zones. Drawing on survey responses from 4,930 undergraduates in private and public 
universities across the South-East, South-West and North-Central zones, this paper examines regional 
patterns in QoL and social support and considers their implications for student mental health. A cross
sectional design was used. Structured questionnaires were administered, incorporating the 16-item 
World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQoL) scale and the Multidimensional Scale of 
Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations were used to map 
regional differences, while one-way ANOVA tested institutional variations in QoL and social support 
across three private universities in the South-West and South-East (reported anonymously for 
confidentiality). Low QoL was especially common in the South-West (56.4 %) and South-East (46.3 
%), while the North-Central zone recorded lower proportions of low QoL (32.5 %) but the highest 
proportion of high QoL (49.3 %). High social support was most frequent in the South-East (60.7 %), 
moderate in the South-West (48.2 %) and lowest in the North-Central zone (32.5 %). At institutional 
level, the private university in the South-East showed slightly higher mean QoL than its peers in the 
South-West. These regional and institutional patterns suggest that regional context and campus social 
environments shape students’ QoL and support networks, with important implications for mental
health-oriented planning of higher education in Nigeria.