Browsing by Author "Nathaniel, Mayengo"

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The mediating role of self-control on the relations between adverse childhood experiences and substance use among adolescents in Uganda
(Frontiers in Psychology, 2024-05-14) Jane, Namusoke; Kennedy, Amone-P’Olak; Carol, Chosen Nakanwagi; Henry, Kibedi; Nathaniel, Mayengo; Joseph, Ssenyonga; Bernard, Omech
Objective: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are established risk factors for undesirable consequences in adolescence and early adulthood, including substance use and a lack of self-control. Based on the Social Bonds Theory (SBT), this study aims to expand our knowledge of the pathways from ACEs and self-control to substance use in adolescence and early adulthood. Methods: The extent to which self-control mediates the association between ACEs and substance use was examined in a cross-sectional survey of 358 adolescents and young adults (N = 234, 65.5% girls, mean age 17.7, SD 0.58, range 15–18). Data were gathered using the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE-10) questionnaire, the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10), and the 10- item self-control scale to assess childhood adversity, substance use, and self- control, respectively. Results: ACEs were widely reported and significantly associated with substance use and a lack of self-control. Self-control strongly predicted substance use, independent of ACEs. Among those reporting no ACEs, one to two, three to four, and five or more, there were significant variations in the respondents’ substance use (F(3, 400) = 12.69, p = 0.001). Self-control explained 51.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 41, 61%) of the associations between ACEs and substance use as assessed by linear regression. Conclusion: Self-control is key to understanding why adolescents and young adults with a history of childhood adversity indulge in substance use. Therefore, there is a need to advocate for psychological interventions such as cognitive and behavioural therapy that have demonstrated efficacy in promoting self- control in adolescents and young adults.
A study of Ugandan children's perspectives on peace, conflict, and peace-building: a liberation psychology approach
(Journal of Peace Psychology, 2018) Nathaniel, Mayengo; Jane, Namusoke; Gastone, Byamugisha; Paul, Sebukalu; James, M Kagaari; Santos, Auma-Okumu; Ali, Baguwemu; Edward, Rutondoki Ntare; Kirabo, Nkambwe Nakasiita; Richard, Atuhairwe; Maria, Kaahwa Goretti; Gerald, Ojok Okumu Oruma; Chalmer, E. Thompson; Barbara, Dennis
Bulhan (1985, 2015) urged psychologists to advance their research and practice by attending to meta- colonialism, a structural phenomenon built on a history of violence and oppression that assaults all manner of individual, community, and societal well-being. In line with this urging, a primarily Ugandan team of researchers conducted a study of primary school children’s perspectives on conflict, peace, and peace-building. At each stage of the research process, the team members sought to recognize and resist the reproduction of meta-colonialism while move toward more emancipatory practices. In this theoretical paper, we explain how we applied a liberation psychological approach to the design, conduct and analysis of the study. We also show how the findings of the study contribute to our ongoing work in fostering structural changes in one of the schools, its surrounding region, and to the nation as a whole.
The testimony of neoliberal contradiction in education choice and privatisation in a poor country: the case of a private, undocumented rural primary school in Uganda
(Ethnography and Education, 2015-07) Nathaniel, Mayengo; Jane, Namusoke; Barbara, Dennis
With international momentum to achieve ‘Education for All’ by 2015, global attention is being paid to those parts of the world where mass formal primary schooling is relatively new. Uganda is such a place. In the context of ethnographic fieldwork at a poor, undocumented, private primary school in rural Uganda, parents were inter- viewed in order to better understand their conceptualisations of education during this ‘massification’ era. The interviews reveal interesting contradictions between the espoused neoliberal principles and the nuances with which they describe education. In the absence of a robust public schooling system, privatisation has emerged to fill the gaps in educational provision as the country finds itself caught between the international mandate for free primary education and the lack of capital.