CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Aggressive behavior is one that is not approved by the society. It is an action or behavior that violates widely accepted cultural norms including formally-enacted rules as well as informal violations of social norms. It is considered abnormal or antisocial if it is uncommon, different from the norm and does not conform to what society expects. A particular behavior is not acceptable to what society expects. A particular behavior is not acceptable or is antisocial if any of these three criteria are seen, namely, the behavior does not allow a person to function effectively with others as a member of society, the behavior does not permit the person to meet his or her own needs and the behavior has a negative effect on the wellbeing of others.
Rodriguez (2004) asserted that aggressive adolescents at school show a very strong need for social recognition; they would like to be considered as powerful, socially accepted, different, and rebellious by their classmates. In other words, the desire for popularity, leadership, and power leads to the involvement of many adolescents in aggressive behaviours providing them the opportunity to construct the social reputation they desire. Igwe (2012) opined that in recent years, incidences of aggressive behaviours of students in Nigeria have become more serious. These behaviours include using filthy languages, stealing, smoking, drinking, bullying, fighting, destruction of public property, cultism, and rapping, among others.
Abenga and Asor as quoted in Irem (2013), listed fighting, cultism, use of abusive language, bullying as the top most aggressive behavior perpetrated by secondary school students. According to Ekundayo and Oyeniyi (2008), the society is tackling many behavior problems of the secondary school students, which include truancy, disobedience, drug addiction, smoking, flirting, stealing, and armed robbery, violent behavior, rebellion against school authorities, examination malpractice, cultism and thugery. Dienye and Oyet, (2011) listed quarrelling, fighting, lying.involvement in cultism, consumption of illicit drugs as the aggressive acts committed by senior secondary school students. This aggressive behavior of adolescents in secondary schools have no doubt inhibited effective teaching and learning in schools and has also affected them negatively.
The family could be described as one of the agents of a child’s socialization. It is the first school of social and moral orientation in which a child attends. Most of the behaviours exhibited by a child are direct products of family socialization and orientation. Home variable refers to the different factor/conditions that exist in a home, which can influence children upbringing and hence their bahaviour. The home is the breeding ground for human continuity and human behavior modification. In recognition of the unique role of the family in the development of the individual, Maduakonam (2005) asserted that if an evaluation of the social influence of the family or home upon the development of individual inventories is made, one would find that the parents at home exert greater influence.
The formulation of goals and motivation of children are developed very early in life at home and the first thing the child does is to learn what is important through the values or goals that are considered most important. Children subsequently absorb the values of their parents and are deeply influenced by them. Parents are probably the most significant influencing agent on the child’s development particularly during early adolescence. The younger child, the teenager and the early adolescents are exposed to parental values and behaviours. As a result of this intense and long term contact, the parents have an overriding influence on how the adolescent will develop (Iroegbu, Chukwudire, Nkwocha and Onyemerekey, 2003).
It has generally been assumed that the nature of the family a child comes from has a way of influencing the behavior of the child. James (2013), asserted that adolescents from small families are less likely to engage in deviant behavior. Since they are not many in the family, they have close affinity with their parents who observe and caution them whenever they go astray. Majority of adolescent from large families do not enjoy close relationship with their parents since most of them seek help from peers, who in most cases, mislead under single parents easily engaged in deviant acts as compared to children raised by both parents (lgwe, 2012 ).
Home location refers to the environment where children are based. It implies location in terms of urban or rural environment. It is not an exaggeration to assert that children brought up under parents who are based in the urban areas may exhibit behaviours which are different from those in the rural homes. This implies that the location of the home because of the different orientations of the people in these homes may influence the behaviors exhibited by the children. One of the suggested factors that could propel student’s behavior through family socialization is parents’ level of marital stability. Ubom (2003) reports that students come from families whose behaviours, cultures and problems are diverted. Some of the phenomena that influence marital relationships include instability, sickness, poverty, infidelity, laxity in disciplinary control and divorce among others. These factors have negative tendencies and capabilities to plague marital relationships. According to the author, children who are socialized and internalized in disorganized families grow up with adverse impacts background. However, some secondary school adolescents are from disciplined and practically Christian families where truth and obedience become their daily watchwords.
However, observations made by the researcher in OrukAram Local Government Area reveal that there is an upsurge of aggressive behavior among secondary school students. Most of them go to school very late and roam about the streets instead of staying in the school. Some are addicted to smoking. Gangsterism is also common among them. Some engage in a daily basis in bullying of the junior cones as well as fighting among themselves. There are also cases where school principals engage the services of the security agencies to help arrest aggressive students. Against the foregoing, the researcher sought to determine whether adolescentsbehavior could be as a result of home variables. The problem of this study was therefore to explore the influence of family variables such as Christian background, family size, home location, family structure family type on disruptive behaviors of secondary school students in Oruk Aram Local Government Area of AkwaIbomState, Nigeria.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
It is common these days to see adolescents’ engaged in one form of aggressive behavior or the other. In recent times, truancy, stealing, bullying, fighting, loitering, raping, smoking, drunkenness, drug abuse and other related aggressive behaviours are bsing perpetuated by adolescents. This has been a matter of great concern to parents, school administrators, teachers, government as well as other well meaning Nigeriens due to the fact that it has impacted negatively on the quality of students output in secondary schools.
Despite all guidance programme and counseling strategies mounted in school to curb aggressive behaviours, thesebehaviours have still being recorded and they have been attributed to lot of indicators such as school factors, environmental factors, and students-relatedfactors.
However, the fact that most of these behaviours are traced to their family life and behaviuirs patterns is not doubt. Hence, it could be said that each secondary school setting is a bundle of behaviours emanating from different home backgrounds. This study was therefore necessitated in determining how family background variables as Christian background, family size, home location, family structure and marriage type contribute to adolescents aggressive behaviours of secondary school students in OrukAnam L.G.A.
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to determine how family variables influence aggressive behaviour among secondary school students in OrukAnam Local Government Area of AkwaIbom State, Nigeria. Specifically, the objectives of the study were:
- To determine difference in aggressive behaviour among secondary school students based on Christian background
- To ascertain difference in aggressive behaviour among secondary school students based on family size.
- To assess difference in aggressive behaviour among secondary school students based on home location
- To determine difference in aggressive behaviour among secondary school students based on family structure
- To assess the difference in aggressive behaviour among secondary school students based on family type.
1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions were raise to direct the study:
What difference exists in aggressive behaviour among secondary school students based on Christian background?
What difference exists in aggressive behaviour among secondary school students based on family size?
What difference exists in aggressive behaviour among secondary students based on home location?
What difference exists in aggressive behaviour among secondary school students based on family structure?
What difference exists to aggressive behaviour among secondary school students based on marriage type?
