Abstract
This study examined the perceived influence of cohabitation on the psychological well-being of students in public tertiary institutions in Benue State, Nigeria. The increasing visibility of cohabitation among students has generated concern regarding its possible psychological implications, particularly in relation to anxiety, depression, and aggression. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted for the study. The population comprised 74,335 students, from which a sample of 398 respondents was selected using the Taro Yamane formula and a multi-stage sampling technique. Data were collected using the Psychosocial Influence of Cohabitation Questionnaire (PICQ), which was validated by experts and yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.93 using Cronbach’s alpha. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and chi-square statistics at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that students perceive cohabitation as being motivated by factors such as companionship, emotional attachment, desire for intimacy, and financial considerations. The results further showed that cohabitation is perceived to have a significant influence on anxiety, depression, and aggression among students, as all null hypotheses were rejected. Specifically, respondents indicated that cohabitation is associated with experiences such as persistent worry, sleep disturbances, sadness, low self-esteem, irritability, and aggressive behaviours. The study concludes that, although cohabitation is perceived to meet certain emotional and practical needs, it is also associated with psychological concerns that may affect students’ well-being and academic engagement. It is therefore recommended that tertiary institutions strengthen mental health services, implement regular psychological screening, and provide targeted counselling interventions to support students’ emotional well-being.