PHYSICAL AND VERBAL AGGRESSION AMONG ADOLESCENT SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN RIVERS STATE OF NIGERIA

Abstract

This study was conducted to ascertain the prevalence, gender and level of schooling difference in adolescent secondary school students’ physical and verbal aggression. The study was conducted in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study, while stratified random sampling technique was used to select 360 adolescent students from three secondary schools to constitute sample for the study. The respondents were selected on the basis of gender and level of schooling. The physical and verbal aggression segments of Buss-Perry Scale were adopted for the study. Six research questions and four hypotheses guided the study. The results were as follows: 20.8% of the secondary school students were physically aggressive, while the prevalence of verbal aggression among the students was 48.3%. Prevalence of physical aggression and verbal aggression were higher among males than females. Prevalence of physical aggression was higher among JSS students (28.3%) than among the SSS students (13.3%), while prevalence of verbal aggression was higher among SSS students (56.7%), than among JSS students (40%). There was significant difference between male and female students physical aggression. There was significant difference between JSS and SSS students physical aggression. Among the recommendations was that Anti-Aggression Club should be established in schools, to monitor, discourage and report aggressive behaviours to school authorities