Abstract

Food inflation is a growing global concern which threatens individuals’ well-being, particularly among vulnerable groups like students. It is against this backdrop the study assessed the psychological effects of food inflation on the well-being status of Agricultural students at University of Ibadan, Nigeria. This study employed a multistage sampling procedure to select one hundred and twenty respondents. A well-structured questionnaire was used to obtain data on respondents’ personal characteristics, perception on food inflation, wellbeing status, psychological effect and coping strategies of food inflation which were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistical tools. Findings showed that the mean age of respondents was 21.33 ± 3.01years, 64.2% and 57.5% were female and living in the hall of residence, respectively. More than half (53.3%) of the respondents had unfavourable perception about food inflation. Planning meals carefully to minimize food waste (x?=4.20) and preparing meals at home rather than eating outside (x?=4.16) were the most employed coping strategies for food inflation. Food inflation resulted in stress (x?= 3.39), anxiety (x?=2.96) and emotional toll (x?=2.99) among the students. Similarly, an average (51.7%) of the respondents had low well-being status. There exists a significant relationship between sex (?2= 43.78), religion (?2 = 150.60), perception on food inflation (r= 0.37) and well-being status. The study concluded that stress is the most experienced psychological effects of food inflation by the respondents with low well-being status. The study recommends that stakeholders like religious organisations should provide subsidised food options within campus markets to mitigate stress associated with inflation which will make students have better wellbeing.

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