Perceived Social Support and Social Media Addiction as Predictors of Tendency to Engage in Examination Malpractice among Undergraduates
One of the assumptions of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) is that external factors (subjective norms) may shape individual behavioural intentions. Based on this assumption, the study examined whether perceived social support and social media addiction predict a tendency to engage in examination malpractice. One hundred and eighty (180) participants comprising of 112 females and 68 males, aged between 18-42 years with a mean age of 22.77 years and a standard deviation of 3.61 were involved in the study. These participants were undergraduates from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Three instruments were used in the study. The instruments include: Examination Malpractice Questionnaire (EMQ), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and Social Media Addiction Scale (SMAS). Two findings were made in the study using hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The first finding revealed that social support (Family, Friends and significant others) jointly predicted the tendency to engage in examination malpractice positively and significantly, ß (3, 175) = .107**. The first finding revealed also that friends social support predicted a tendency to engage in examination malpractice negatively and significantly, ß = -.253* while significant others social support predicted a tendency to engage in examination malpractice positively and significantly, ß = .416**. The first finding revealed also that family social support predicted a tendency to engage in examination malpractice negatively but not significant, ß = -.047. The second finding revealed that social media addiction significantly predicted a tendency to engage in examination malpractice, ß (1, 174) = .048*. This indicated that social support and social media addiction predicted a tendency to engage in examination malpractice. The findings may have implications for planning, understanding and designing programs for prevention of examination malpractice. It was recommended that school management should institute workshops and symposiums each semester on perceived social support and social media addiction concerning examination malpractice.