Aggressive behaviour and family structure among Nigerian adolescents

Abstract

The behavior of adolescent have gained attention worldwide because of the negative impact on the perpetrators, the victims, their families and significant others; it has also been found that children who are aggressive may grow up to become adults who engage in criminal activities. In school setting, high level of aggressive behavior among the students shows failing responsibility of molding the children to become responsible members of the society. Many factors have been investigated for being responsible for this behavior among the adolescents, among which is the family structure. This study therefore aims to find out the relationship between family structure and aggressive behaviors of Nigerian adolescents. The sample for the study comprised one hundred and twenty students randomly selected from three schools in Azare Metropolis in Bauchi state of Nigeria. Findings of the study revealed that there is a relationship between family structure and aggressive behaviour. Children from polygamous family without their biological mothers tend to be more aggressive while those from polygamous family which include biological father and mother, and those from monogamous family are less aggressive. It can therefore be concluded that it is not polygamy itself that is detrimental to child outcome, but the absence of the biological parents in the family.