Psychological resilience as emotional armour in family dysfunction and food addiction among Ghanaian tertiary students

Abstract

Objective: This study examines the prevalence of family dysfunction and food addiction among tertiary students in Ghana and investigates the moderating role of psychological resilience in this relationship. Background: Food addiction is an emerging behavioural health concern among tertiary students, particularly in environments characterised by family dysfunction. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a random sample of 553 tertiary students at the University of Education, Winneba. Pearson Product-Moment correlation and the Hayes Process Macro were employed to examine relationships among the study variables and test for moderation effects. Results: The study found that 26.9% of students experienced high family dysfunction, 39.0% had food addiction, 31.3% were overeaters, and 40.0% had low psychological resilience. Correlation analysis showed weak to moderate positive associations between resilience, family dysfunction, and food addiction. Psychological resilience also buffered the relationship between family dysfunction and food addiction. Conclusion: The study underscores the interplay between family dysfunction, psychological resilience, and food addiction among tertiary students. Implication: Universities should implement mental health support services, resilience training programmes, and nutritional education to address food addiction risks among students. Level of evidence: This study contributes cross-sectional data from Ghana showing that psychological resilience may mitigate the negative effects of family dysfunction on food addiction, providing culturally grounded insight into protective factors in tertiary education settings.