Psychosocial factors as predictors of aggressive behaviors among primary school learners

Abstract

The study investigated psychosocial factors as predictors of aggressive behaviors among primary school learners in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The study used a survey research design. All public primary school learners in Ekiti State formed the target population. A sample size of one thousand three hundred and fifty (1350) respondents was selected using a multistage sampling procedure, consisting of 641 males (47.5%) and 709 females (52.5%), ages 9–13 years, who participated in the study. A self-report instrument tagged “Learners' Aggressive Behaviours Questionnaire” (α indexes of .81, .70, .77, and .84 for the four components respectively) was used for data collection. The data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis at a 5% level of significance. The empirical findings revealed that parenting styles, peer influence, and self-control significantly predicted learners' aggressive behavior. Recommendations for curbing aggressive behavior among learners were highlighted.