Domestic Violence, Parenting Style and Socio-economic Status as Predictors of Deviant Behaviour among Secondary School Students in Abeokuta South, Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Deviant behaviour among secondary school students has become a growing source of concern in Nigeria, with consequences for adolescents' education, security and psychosocial wellbeing. This study examined the extent to which domestic violence, parenting style and socio-economic status jointly and independently predict deviant behaviour among secondary school students in Abeokuta South Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey design of the correlational type was adopted. Two hundred students were drawn from four public secondary schools using stratified and simple random sampling. Data were collected with four validated instruments: the Deviant Behaviour Scale, the Domestic Violence Scale, the Parenting Style Scale and the Socio-economic Status Scale. Pearson Product Moment Correlation and multiple regression were used to analyse the data at the 0.05 level of significance. Each predictor correlated significantly with deviant behaviour: parenting style (r = .55), socio-economic status (r = .36) and domestic violence (r = .29). The three variables jointly predicted deviant behaviour (R = .35; F = 3.42; p < .05) and accounted for a significant proportion of its variance. Parenting style made the strongest independent contribution (β = .30), followed by domestic violence (β = .17) and socio-economic status (β = .11). The findings indicate that the family, and not the school alone, is central to the emergence of adolescent deviance. Home–school partnerships, parenting education and improvements in household socio-economic conditions are recommended as strategies for curbing deviant behaviour among adolescents.

Keywords: Deviant behaviour; parenting style; domestic violence; socio-economic status; adolescents; secondary school students; Nigeria.