Migration is an inevitable aspect of human existence, but youth attitudes toward irregular migration have recently become a growing concern among policymakers, researchers, and government officials in developing countries like Nigeria, where challenging living conditions and lack of opportunities to achieve an individual’s potential often influence migration-related attitudes. While previous studies have largely focused on economic and structural factors, limited research attention has been given to the influence of psychological parameters on attitudes toward irregular migration. Thus, this study examined the impact of life satisfaction and hopelessness on attitudes toward irregular migration among Nigerian young adults, with risk-taking propensity as a moderator. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 564 undergraduates from federal, state, and private universities in Nigeria, and four standardized psychological instruments, which include: Satisfaction With Life Scale, Attitudes Toward Unauthorized Migration Scale, General Risk-Taking Propensity Scale (GRiPS), and Hopelessness Scale, were used for data collection. The collected data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM, version 3.0). The results showed that life satisfaction had a significant negative influence on attitudes toward irregular migration. The result further indicates that hopelessness had a significant positive effect on attitudes toward irregular migration. Again, risk-taking propensity also had a positive effect on migration attitudes and equally served as a positive moderator in the relationship between hopelessness and attitudes toward irregular migration among young adults. Hence, the findings highlight the role of these psychological parameters as important promoters of youths’ attitudes toward irregular migration in a developing country like Nigeria.

Background: Mathematics anxiety (MA) remains prevalent among university students and may intensify under strong parental academic pressure, particularly in collectivist educational settings.Objective: This study explored whether loneliness mediates the link between parental academic pressure and MA and whether peer support or gender moderates these associations among Nigerian undergraduates. Method: A cross-sectional survey of 650 students from federal, state, and private universities was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling with 5,000 bootstrap resamples. Findings: Parental academic pressure significantly predicted MA and also increased loneliness, which in turn strongly predicted MA. Loneliness significantly mediated the relationship between parental academic pressure and MA. Peer support showed a small but significant moderating (buffering) effect. Conclusion: Loneliness functions as a significant psychological pathway through which parental academic pressure influences MA among undergraduates. Implications: Interventions that combine parental awareness, structured peer support systems, and accessible university counselling services may help reduce MA and improve student well-being.

Migration is an inevitable aspect of human existence, but youth attitudes toward irregular migration have recently become a growing concern among policymakers, researchers, and government officials in developing countries like Nigeria, where challenging living conditions and lack of opportunities to achieve an individual’s potential often influence migration-related attitudes. While previous studies have largely focused on economic and structural factors, limited research attention has been given to the psychological determinants of irregular migration attitudes. Hence, this study examined life satisfaction and hopelessness as predictors of attitudes toward irregular migration among Nigerian young adults, with risk-taking propensity as a moderator. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 564 undergraduates from federal, state, and private universities in Nigeria, and four standardized psychological instruments, which include the Satisfaction With Life Scale, Attitudes Toward Unauthorized Migration Scale, General Risk-Taking Propensity Scale (GRiPS), and Hopelessness Scale, were used for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM, version 3.0). The results showed that life satisfaction had a significant negative influence on irregular migration attitudes and also indicated that hopelessness had a significant positive influence on attitudes toward irregular migration. Again, risk-taking propensity had a positive influence on migration attitudes and also served as a positive moderator in the relationship between hopelessness and irregular migration attitudes among young adults. Therefore, these findings indicate that hopelessness alone may not be sufficient to explain why some Nigerian young adults develop favourable attitudes toward irregular migration. Rather, the influence of hopelessness appears to depend on the individual’s propensity to engage in or tolerate risk. In conclusion, findings of this study suggest that practical interventions aimed at addressing irregular migration among young Nigerians should extend beyond economic and structural measures to incorporate psychological and behavioural components, particularly programmes that enhance life satisfaction, reduce hopelessness, and promote safer decision-making among risk-prone young adults.