This study examined the association between dating practices and discipline problems among university students living in Molyko, the neighbourhood adjoining the University of Buea, Cameroon, using data collected in 2016 as a baseline for contemporary discussions of campus well-being. A cross-sectional survey was completed by 323 students, and 20 post-survey interviews provided contextual participant accounts. Dating-practice items covered cohabitation, partner communication through Facebook or WhatsApp, multiple relationships, online dating with strangers, pornography exposure, pregnancy- and abortion-related experiences, partner conflict, and financial deception involving parents. The discipline-problems measure covered absenteeism, lateness, disrespect or harassment of staff, conflict with landlords or fellow tenants, examination malpractice, fighting with dangerous objects, public smoking, participation in rebellious activities, internet malpractice, and disturbing neighbours. All analyses were complete-case analyses (N = 323). Dating-practice scores were positively and strongly associated with discipline-problem scores, r (321) = 0.68, p < 0.001. Dating practices significantly predicted discipline problems, F (1, 321) = 282.19, p < 0.001, explaining 46.8% of the variance. Contextual accounts from the interviews pointed to academic time displacement, emotional strain, financial pressure, pregnancy anxiety, sexual coercion, and risky coping as plausible pathways linking relationship experiences with student behaviour. The findings should not be interpreted as current prevalence estimates. Rather, they provide a documented 2016 baseline showing that intimate relationships were already intertwined with student well-being and discipline in an African university neighbourhood. The study supports contemporary attention to relationship education, safeguarding, counselling, digital safety, and university-community collaboration, while underscoring the need for a new multi-site replication.
Cite this paper
Afumbom, D. A. , Fabani, A. and Daru, E. R. (2026). Student Dating and Discipline Problems in a Cameroonian University Neighbourhood: A 2016 Baseline Study. Open Access Library Journal, 13, e15997. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1115997.
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