Citation

Taiwo AO. Afr. J. Psychol. Study Soc. Issues 2004; 7(2): 220-236.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Ibadan

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, African Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, Publisher Claverianum Press)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In recent times, researchers and laymen have observed high incidence of violence in higher institutions of learning worldwide, particularly in Nigeria. This study therefore examined the influence of psychosocial factors on school violence behaviour among students in tertiary institutions in Ibadan.

Two hundred volunteered students from their various departments comprising of 80 males and 120 females of both the Polytechnic Ibadan and the University of Ibadan, with a mean age of 23 years participated in the study.

The study adopted an ex post facto design. A questionnaire comprising of demographics, social competence scale, Self-efficacy scale and Gough Socialization scale was used to collect data. Data collected was subjected to multiple and stepwise regression analyses, one-way ANOVA and t-test for independent sample to test the hypotheses as stated in the study.

Results indicated that all the Psychological variables (Self efficacy, social competence and Socialization) showed significant joint prediction of school violence tendency among students of tertiary institution in 50% of the cases. Age groups, religion as well as sex were also found to have significant influence on school violence tendency among students of tertiary institution respectively (F(197, 2) = 48.12, p< 0.001; F(197, 2) = 54.9, p< 0.05; t = 2.95, df = 198, p<0.001).

It was therefore concluded that age group, religion, sex as well as self-efficacy and social competence constitute very important factors to be considered in designing youth violence prevention/management strategies. It was recommended that religious leaders as well as psychology experts should not be left out of the quest to prevent or manage school violence in tertiary institutions in Nigeria.