A public health researcher, Folakemi Kuku, has stressed the urgent need to address emotional abuse among college students, stating that the problem, though often overlooked, has serious consequences for young people’s mental health and academic success.

“Emotional abuse may not leave physical traces but it sure can cause chronic anxiety, depression, academic decline, and social isolation,” Folakemi said while speaking on her ongoing doctoral research at the University of Cincinnati, United States.

Currently a Doctoral Assistant in Health Promotion and Education, Folakemi was recently awarded the prestigious Graduate Student and Faculty Research Mentoring Grant by the university’s CECH Research & Development Professional Practice Board for her study titled ‘Emotional Abuse among College Students in Intimate Relationships: A Qualitative Exploration of Experiences and Help-Seeking Behaviors.’

The Nigerian scholar, who holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Ibadan, explained that her experiences working on health programs across rural communities in Nigeria motivated her to move beyond service delivery into evidence generation and policy translation.

“Working on community health programs across Nigeria made me realize that service delivery alone is not enough. There are gaps between policy intentions and what the communities experience,” she noted.

Folakemi said her research aims to amplify the voices of students, document barriers and facilitators to help-seeking behaviors such as stigma and service accessibility, and make recommendations that could shape campus policies on mental health and abuse prevention.

She also emphasized that while universities often provide services for substance abuse or sexual violence, emotional abuse remains less defined in policy and practice despite its impact.

“Students are at a formative life stage, so understanding emotional abuse, how it’s experienced, rationalized, and most importantly, how help is sought or blocked is essential to designing effective prevention, counseling, and referral systems on campus,” she explained.

The award includes mentorship under Dr. Rebecca Vidourek, a seasoned researcher in adolescent/young adult mental health, and an expert in translating qualitative findings into policy recommendations. An opportunity to present at the 2026 Spring Research Conference, was provided alongside the award. Folakemi described the recognition as both validation and motivation.

“It validates the relevance of my work, acknowledging that the problem I chose to study matters, and my approach has scholarly merit,” she said.

Long-term, Folakemi said she hopes to lead research programs that design interventions for mental health promotion and push for translation of evidence into institutional policies that protect vulnerable populations.