CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The exhibition of deviant behavior by secondary school students such as

stealing, lying, fighting, prostitution, smoking etc. are not traits learnt in

the classroom through formal learning but as result of misdirection and

the inability to control the event of early childhood. Children exposed to

high risk condition such as exposure to maternal depression or

community violence, physical abuse or death of a parent. Substance abuse

in a parent, Separation from a parent or caregiver, Sexual abuse, Stress

caused by poverty, Sudden and/or serious medical condition, Violence (at

home, at school, or in the surrounding community). Accidents.

Bullying/cyber etc. manifest greater maladjustment than those who do

not; thereby leading to deviant behavior. It has been observed that quite

number of students in secondary schools exercise deviant behavior which

is the violation of the norms and regulations of the society. Deviant

behavior is defined as deviation from laid down rules and regulations of

the community or principle of a social behavior such as engaging in

crime, drunkenness, indiscipline in school, home prostitution, cultism,

gambling etc. However, some children show resilience than others who

1
 have gone through trauma. The school, parents, and the government have

significant role to play in rebuilding the life of this victims. The study

seeks to proffer an appraisal of childhood trauma, resilience and locus of

control as predictors of deviant behaviours among secondary school

students.

1.2     STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Trauma which arises as a result of events in the early years of a child

exact significant effect on the child’s behavior. Children exposed to high

risk condition such as Exposure to maternal depression or community

violence, physical abuse or death of a parent.   Substance abuse in a

parent,   Separation from a parent or caregiver, Sexual abuse, Stress

caused by poverty, Sudden and/or serious medical condition, Violence (at

home, at school, or in the surrounding community). Accidents,

Bullying/cyber bullying, domestic violence, parent with a mental illness,

incarcerated. Emotional abuse or neglect, War/terrorism  etc., manifest

greater  maladjustment than those who do not; Thereby leading to deviant

behavior. Which is the violation of the norms and laws of the society such

as crime, drunkenness, indiscipline in school, home prostitution, cultism,

gambling etc.? However, some children show resilience than others who

have gone through trauma earlier in life. Such children are able to better

convert the ill conditions of the past into a positive better future. The

2
 school, parents, and the government have significant role to play in its

rebuilding the life of this victims. The problem confronting the study is

investigating childhood trauma, resilience and locus of control as

predictors of deviant behaviors among secondary school students.

1.3    OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main objectives of this study is to investigate childhood trauma,

resilience and locus of control as predictors of deviant behaviors among

secondary school students; While, the specific objectives of the study

include;

i. To appraise the concept of childhood trauma, resilience and locus of

control.

ii. To determine the deviant behaviors among secondary school students.

iii. To investigate the relationship between childhood trauma, resilience and

locus of control as predictors of deviant behaviors among secondary

school students.

1.4    RESEARCH QUESTIONS

i. What is childhood trauma, resilience and locus of control?

ii. What is the deviant behaviors among secondary school children?

3
 iii. What is the relationship between childhood trauma, resilience and locus

of control as predictors of deviant behaviors among secondary school

students?

1.5     RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

Ho1: There is no significant relationship between childhood trauma, resilience

and locus of control as predictors of deviant behaviours among secondary

school students.

1.6     SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study seeks to provide an evaluative appraisal of the relationship between

childhood trauma, resilience and locus of control as predictors of deviant

behaviors among secondary school students. The study shall be of immense

value for the counseling of secondary school students.

1.7     SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study focuses on the appraisal of childhood trauma, resilience and locus of

control as predictors of deviant behaviors among secondary school students.

1.8     LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The study was confronted with logistic and geographical constraint.

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1.9     DEFINITION OF TERMS

RESILIENCE: Resilience is the ability to overcome adverse condition of life

and return to a positive state of life. It is a process of positive adaptation in the

face of despite significant adversity or trauma.

ADVERSITY: Adversity is the negative condition of live which may turn out

to affect someone’s behavior such as the exposure to community violence,

poverty, war etc.

LOCUS OF CONTROL: Locus of control is the extent to which an individual

can have control over the outcome of traumatic events in their lives, as opposed

to external forces beyond their control.

POSITIVE ADAPTATION: Positive adaptation refers to a better adjustment

in the face of trauma.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 INTRODUCTION

Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literature that would

assist in explaining the research problem and furthermore recognize the efforts

of scholars who had previously contributed immensely to similar research. The

chapter intends to deepen the understanding of the study and close the perceived

gaps.
5
2.1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Child Trauma

Trauma is defined as a real or intimidating encounter with the threat of death,

serious injury or sexual assault (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Child

abuse and neglect that are all actions or inaction of the adults towards the child,

taken into consideration within the concept of trauma, are viewed as

inappropriate and harmful by social rules and experts due to causing damage to

various stages of child’s development and endangering health and safety (Taner

& Gökler, 2004). Child abuse and neglect are handled in a wide range of

developmental, medical, social, psychological and legal dimensions (Polat,

2001). Child abuse and neglect, based on definitions, is classified as physical

abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. Physical abuse includes

behavior such as beating with or without an object, burning, biting and shaking,

and forcing a caustic substance to eat; emotional abuse refers to behaviors such

as humiliation, mocking, threatening while neglect indicates that the basic needs

of the child are not met (Moeller, Bachmann & Moeller, 1993; Şahin, 2009).

Sexual abuse is the use of the child for sexual satisfaction by an adult or another

child to whom the child is related in terms of responsibility, care and power

because of his or her age and development (Dağlı & İnanıcı, 2010). Childhood

abuse and neglect, which constitutes the most important among traumatic

experiences, causes more destructive effects than negative experiences such as

natural disasters and fire (Lancaster, Melka & Rodrigez, 2009; Şar, 2009).

6
When this situation is evaluated in terms of age, while traumatic experiences

cause corrosion for adults on their personalities as their personality is already

shaped, repetitive trauma exposure in childhood shapes and distorts the child’s

personality. The child who is in this state tries to experience some

circumstances such as trust, power and control (Herman, 2015). Thus, such

traumatic experiences in childhood are constantly processed by being on the

agenda of the child and carried to adult life (Şar & Öztürk, 2007).

Resilience

Psychological resilience is defined as a dynamic process in which individuals

adapt healthily despite experiencing severe difficulties or trauma (Luthar,

Cicchetti & Becker, 2000). Resilience has been defined as recovery after

exposure to a serious challenge or threat (Masten, 2001) and healthy fit (Cutuli

& Masten, 2009). As it is seen, definitions on psychological resilience indicate

the ability to maintain a high level of psychological function and to adapt

healthily after being exposed to trauma or serious stress (Bonanno, Westphal &

Mancini, 2011; Southwick, Charney, Friedman & Litz, 2011). Accordingly,

resilience is not just the absence of psychopathology after these events.

Resilience is a broad concept that includes the ability to survive or recover from

heavy challenges to resist them. In human development, Cutuli and Masten

(2009) stated that resilience research focuses on three different situations: a.

functioning well during severe difficulties (resilience to stress) b. returning to

previous levels of good functioning after traumatic or seriously destructive

7
experiences (recovery) and c. demonstrating normal compliance when there is

improvement in severe difficulties (normalization).

Individuals’ potentials, strengths, internal resources, emotional self-efficacy and

positive characteristics are outstanding features to understand resilience. Heller

et al. (1999) reviewed the current research literature on the resistance to

maltreatment in childhood and adolescence in their study and they stated

individuals whose psychological resilience is high also have above-average

cognitive abilities, high self-esteem, inner locus of control, external attribution

to blame, presence of spirituality, ego resilience and high ego control. One of

the comprehensive studies on psychological resilience is the longitudinal study

of Werner and Smith (1982), which was based on the observation technique and

conducted with more than 200 children living on the island of Kauai in Hawaii.

The study indicated that approximately one third of the children were self-

sufficient, caring and self-confident. Garmezy (1993) described a number of

personal traits that affect resilience in a study of youth with poverty. These

features are high social skills, positive peer and adult interaction, high social

responsiveness and sensitivity, intelligence, empathy, humor ability, high self-

esteem, inner locus of control and critical problem-solving skills. The socio-

demographic environment in childhood can pose risks in many ways. For

example, the fact that children living in poor regions are academically sound

may lead to a disadvantage in terms of language and literacy. The psychosocial

strength of children and their attachment to their parents with stronger ties are

8
important predictors of children’s language learning and literacy skills (Maier,

Vitiello & Greenfield, 2012). It is possible that children who cannot establish a

safe connection with their parents during childhood and experience problematic

behaviors by their parents will have difficulties in school life. On the other

hand, there are significant positive relationships between the language and

literacy skills of children who display positive behavioral, emotional and social

attitudes (Peth-Pierce, 2000). In addition, there may be measurable effects on

the cognitive functions of children who have not received sufficient cognitive

stimuli, neglected and abused. Indeed, the low reading and spelling performance

of children is a finding that reflects it (Rees, 2013). Along with the contribution

of being psychosocially strong to the academic and literacy dimensions,

psychological resilience is also addressed in terms of emotional literacy.

Emotional literacy includes skills that include awareness, naming, meaning, and

reaction of emotions (Pearson & Wilson, 2008). With the development of both

academic and emotional literacy skills, it can be ensured that children are more

resilient at a later age. In this regard, the environment in which children are

raised and their experiences in childhood become prominent. In psychological

resilience studies, the factors affecting the development of psychological

resilience have been tried to be determined and revealed and these factors have

been named as “protective factors”. Protective factors define situations that

reduce or eliminate the impact of risk or difficulty and improve healthy

compliance and individual competencies (Masten, 1994). In a study by Werner

9
and Smith (1982), personal qualities and behaviors such as docile temperament,

high intelligence, inner locus of control, high self-esteem and strong self-

efficacy were defined as protective factors contributing to the development of

resilience, even if they are not essential.

Resilience is not a general structure for all life areas, but it is rather a personal,

cultural, dynamic, and background-dependent phenomenon. People may not

demonstrate resilience to all life events or aspects but only to specific situations.

That is, people may be resilient to specific threats and vulnerable to others

(Tusaie & Dyer 2004). In addition, some sources of resilience are only

achievable in specific contexts; which means it is a way of interaction between

stressors, context, and personal traits (McAllister & Mckinnin 2009). For

example, resilient individuals may encounter harmful situations, but they do not

suffer interruption of their life order.

Locus of Control

Over several decades, psychological research has focused on locus of control

(LOC), which is a personality trait that represents the extent to which people

believe that the rewards they receive in life can be controlled by their own

personal actions (Lefcourt, 1984; Rotter, 1966). Van der Sluis, Van Praag and

Van Witteloostuijn (2004) describe WLOC in relation to a personality

construct. Locus of control refers to one’s belief in his or her abilities to control

life events (Strauser, 2002). In other words, locus of control is defined as one’s

10
thoughts of his/her belief that his/her own power or forces out of his/her control

are influential in any positive or negative situation occurring during his/her life

(Sardogan, 2006). The belief of locus of control is related to what

reinforcements have happened throughout the individuals’ lives, namely the

results, prizes, their success or failures, refer to. These attributions refer not only

to chance, fate, and powerful people out of one’s control, but also to the results

of his/her own attitudes (Basım & Sesen, 2006). While one’s control on his/her

own life dependent on chance, fate and powerful people is explained as external

control; maintaining the individual control over one’s life on his/her own is

described as the internal control (Rotter, 1966). When environmental conditions

are not sufficient to explain individuals’ success or failures, locus of control can

facilitate in making these situations clear. For instance, individuals may

sometimes perceive good and bad events in different ways. To mention that

these different ways are based on external and internal forces (Taylor, 2006).

Some individuals believe that they can control what happens to them, while

others believe that what happens to them is controlled by outside forces such as

luck and opportunities. Locus of control is a " generalized belief that a person

can or cannot control his own destiny or a person's perspective on the events

whether he able to control behavior that happened to him or not (Rotter, 1966).

Brownell (1982) suggested that locus of control is how far one accepts personal

responsibility for what happens to them. Furthermore, Robbins (2003) defined

locus of control as a person's perception of his fate source. The term locus of

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control simply refers to the extent to which one believes that events in one’s life

are contingent on one’s own behaviour. According to the internal- external

locus of control construct, persons with internal expectancies for control of

reinforcement believe that their own behaviour determine the reinforcement

they receive.

These persons are called internals. A person with internal locus of control

attributes change to himself and to his actions. They believe and act as if they

control their own futures and see themselves as effective agents in determining

the occurrence of reinforcing events in life. In contrast, a person who believes in

external control of reinforcements attributes their outcomes to chance, luck,

fate, powerful others, and so on. These people are called externals. A person

with external locus of control attributes changes to external sources, and

believes that powerful forces such as fate, luck, chance, powerful others, social

constraints ,or instructions are important factors determining the occurrence of

reinforcing events in his life. A person with external locus of control believes

that reinforcement does not depend on his actions or behaviour, but is “the

result of luck, chance, fate, as under the control of powerful others or is

unpredictable because of great complexity of forces” (Rotter, 1966). The

implication of this is that individuals with internal locus of control may likely

change their behaviour following reinforcements than those individuals with

external locus of control. The key concept embedded in the construct on locus

12
of control is one’s perception of control and external influences or

reinforcements (Galejs, & Hegland, 1982).

In the social development process, the individuals develop quite consistent

expectations about their own behaviors and results of actions, internal and

external factors (Alisinanoğlu & Ulutaş, 2000). Rotter (1954) described these

expectations as belief in the source of internal or external control, and named

the areas as “locus of control” that the powers determining the positive or

negative consequences (Dönmez, 1986; Tümkaya, 2001). Thus, people

generalize their expectations of the results of their behavior based on one of the

two trends. The first is expressed as the general expectation (or belief) that

rewards and punishments are largely due to the individuals own actions and that

their behavior is more effective than their emergence. This represents “internal

control” and so those who possess this belief are described as “internally

controlled”. The other is the general expectation with rewards and punishments

that are applied, governed or supervised by other powers (e.g., God, fate, luck,

other people, etc.) so that personal efforts will not be effective in achieving the

reward and avoiding punishment and this refers to “external control” and those

who possess this belief are described as “externally controlled” (Bozkurt &

Harmanlı, 2002; Findley & Cooper, 1983; McIntyre, 1984). Internal control

shows the belief that rewards come later depending on the behavior of

individuals. Internal control is generally considered a positive feature since it is

the result of great effort and success (Durak, 1997). Internally controlled

13
persons act more independently. They have more power to deal with pressures

from the environment and the family. They produce more constructive

responses in the face of obstacles, have the power to decide on their own, and in

case of any failure, they assume full responsibility (Ören, 2018). Explanations

about how children and young people become successful despite risky and

abusive experiences are important for preventive studies (Gizir, 2016).

Considering that psychological resilience is related to healthy adaptation;

whatever experiences people have, they try to maintain their well-being.

Addressing protective factors is important for preventive studies at different

levels. Therefore, examining the factors affecting psychological resilience has

come to the fore as a prominent subject.

Deviant Behavior

Lerner (2004) defined deviant behavior as behavior which negates the values

and harmony of the society. Secondary school students are majorly adolescent

and adolescent development involves adjustment to changes in the self (e.g

pertinent to puberty, cognitive and emotional characteristics and social

expectations) and also alteration often institutional changes as well. Not all

young people undergo these transitions in the same way, with the same speed,

or with comparable outcomes. Individual differences are thus a key part of

adolescent development, and are caused by differences in the timing of

connections among biological, psychological, and societal factors with one of

these influences acting either alone or as the prime mover of change (Lerner,

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2004). The need for personal freedom and freedom from authority of

significance is a strong motivator for adolescents and expression of this need

can come in diverse ways. For example, deviant acts among adolescents can be

seen as an avenue to assert individuality and identity causing rebellions against

group and societal norms (Stoolmiller, 2017).

Adolescent delinquency involves not just criminal acts but also socially deviant

behaviours that go against socially established rules including impulsivity,

conflicts with authority, opposition and aggression (Morizot and Kazemian,

2015). It is a comprehensive concept that includes a broad range of behaviours

with victims and perpetrators. As such, delinquent (in adolescence) and criminal

(in adulthood) behaviour can be conceptualized as parts of a more profound

antisocial behaviour syndrome that tend to be more persistent and stable

(Farington, 2017) involving such a degree of destructiveness that may be

punished following a conviction. compared to a child who has a stable life with

both parents. With only one parent, a child may receive only half the guidance

given by two parents. This usually results in child making the wrong decisions

like getting involved in other risk factors. Children who live in homes with one

parent or in which marital relationship have been disrupted by divorce or

separation are more likely to display a range of behavioural problems including

delinquency than children from two parent families (Thornberry 1999). Parent

teaches children to control unacceptable behaviour, to delay indulgence and to

respect the rights of others. On the contrary, families can teach children

15
aggressive, anti-social and violent behavior (Wright & Wright 1994). Smith and

Tolan (1998) found that parental conflict and parental aggressiveness predicted

violent offending, whereas, lack of maternal affection and paternal criminality

predicted involvement in property crimes.

2.2 Empirical Studies

Several studies has been carried out on the childhood trauma, resilience and

locus of control as predictor s of deviant behaviour.

In a study carried out by Tuğba Türk-Kurtça1 , Metin Kocatürk2 (2020) on the

role of childhood traumas, emotional self-efficacy and the internal-external

locus of control were investigated in predicting psychological resilience. The

study included a total of 291 participants (208 females and 83 males) with

average age of 20.29 (SD = 2.59). Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Emotional

Self-Efficacy Scale, Internal-External Locus of Control Scale and Psychological

Resilience Scale were used to collect data from participants. As a result of

simple linear regression analysis, childhood traumas experiences, emotional

self-efficacy and internal locus of control predicted resilience significantly

among university students. Also, there was significant positive relationship

between emotional self-efficacy, locus of control and resilience. On the other

hand, resilience and childhood traumas were correlated negatively. In this

research, it was found that psychological resilience was predicted by childhood

traumas, emotional self-efficacy and locus of control. In addition to this main

16
finding, there were significant relationship between independent variables and

psychological resilience.

In a study carried out by Arowosegbe C. Kehinde A. Christanah K. & Adedayo

T. (2019), This study investigates resilience and locus of control as predictors of

delinquent Behaviour. Three hundred participants were used for this study.

Three research instruments were used to measure the variable of interest and

this include Deliquent Activity Scale aim to measure delinquent behavior

among Secondary School Students, Resilience scale aim to measure resilience

and Multidimensional Locus of Control aimed to measure individual locus of

control. Two hypotheses were tested using Regression analysis and Pearson

Correlation. The result of the study revealed that Resilience predicts Deliquent

Behaviour and Locus of control does not predict Deliquent Behaviour. Findings

are discussed according to the literatures and it is recommended that individual

should avoid delinquent behavior at all cost in order to return sanity to the

environment.

2.3 Theoretical Framework

For the purpose of this study, social learning theory is adopted for the study.

Social Learning Theory

Social learning theory is a theory that attempts to explain socialization and its

effect on the development of the self. There are many different theories that

explain how people become socialized, including psychoanalytic theory,

17
functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interaction theory. Social learning

theory, like these others, looks at the individual learning process, the formation

of self, and the influence of society in socializing individuals.

Social learning theory considers the formation of one’s identity to be a learned

response to social stimuli. It emphasizes the societal context of socialization

rather than the individual mind. This theory postulates that an individual’s

identity is not the product of the unconscious (such as the belief of

psychoanalytic theorists), but instead is the result of modeling oneself in

response to the expectations of others. Behaviors and attitudes develop in

response to reinforcement and encouragement from the people around us. While

social learning theorists acknowledge that childhood experience is important,

they also believe that the identity people acquire is formed more by the

behaviors and attitudes of others.

Social learning theory has its roots in psychology and was shaped greatly by

psychologist Albert Bandura. Sociologists most often use social learning theory

to understand crime and deviance.

According to social learning theory, people engage in crime because of their

association with others who engage in crime. Their criminal behavior is

reinforced and they learn beliefs that are favorable to crime. They essentially

have criminal models that they associate with. As a consequence, these

individuals come to view crime as something that is desirable, or at least

justifiable in certain situations. Learning criminal or deviant behavior is the

18
same as learning to engage in conforming behavior: it is done through

association with or exposure to others. In fact, association with delinquent

friends is the best predictor of delinquent behavior other than prior delinquency.

Social learning theory postulates that there are three mechanisms by which

individuals learn to engage in crime: differential reinforcement, beliefs, and

modeling.

2.4 Chapter Summary

Childhood abuse and neglect t are all actions or inaction of the adults towards

the child, taken into consideration within the concept of trauma, are viewed

as inappropriate and harmful by social rules and experts due to causing

damage to various stages of child’s development and endangering health and

safety and on the adverse can lure a child into deviant behaviour. Thus a childs’

potentials, strengths, internal resources, emotional self-efficacy and positive

characteristics during this traumatic experiences shapes how he/she chooses to

cope with the situation. Children with high level of resilience control

themselves in the midst of the pressure to engage in crime. Instead of reacting

negatively by deviance due to the emotional and mental stressors presented

through trauma, they find a positive way to cope. Therefore the study using

social learning theory concludes that child trauma, resilience and locus of

control are predictors of deviance among secondary school student

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 CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODS

3.1 Research Design

Research designs are perceived to be an overall strategy adopted by the

researcher whereby different components of the study are integrated in a logical

manner to effectively address a research problem. In this study, the researcher

employed the survey research design. This is due to the nature of the study

whereby the opinion and views of students are sampled.

3.2 Population of the Study

According to Udoyen (2019), a study population is a group of elements or

individuals as the case may be, who share similar characteristics. These similar

features can include location, gender, age, sex or specific interest. The emphasis

on study population is that it constitute of individuals or elements that are

homogeneous in description. The target population for this study comprised

students of selected secondary schools in Keffi South, in Nasarawa State.

This study was carried out to examine childhood trauma, resilience and

locus of control as predictors of deviant behaviours among secondary school

students using Keffi South Secondary School in Nasarawa State as case study.

3.3 Sample Size

A study sample is simply a systematic selected part of a population that infers

its result on the population. In essence, it is that part of a whole that represents

the whole and its members share characteristics in like similitude (Udoyen,

20
2019). In this study, the researcher adopted the convenience sampling method to

determine the sample size.

3.4 Sampling Techniques and Procedure

This research work adopted the convenience sampling technique in selecting the

respondents from the total population

A total sample size of one hundred and twenty (120) respondents who are

principals, counselor, head teachers and class teachers was selected from the

research population using the convenient sampling method. According to Torty

(2021), a sample of convenience is the terminology used to describe a sample in

which elements have been selected from the target population on the basis of

their accessibility or convenience to the researcher.

3.5 Data Collection Instrument

The research instrument used in this study is the questionnaire. A 30

minutes survey containing 4(four) questions were administered to the enrolled

participants. The questionnaire was divided into two sections, the first section

inquired about the responses demographic or personal data while the second

sections were in line with the study objectives, aimed at providing answers to

the research questions.

3.6 Method of Data Analysis

The responses were analyzed using the frequency tables, which provided

answers to the research questions. The hypotheses were tested using the Pearson

Correlation Statistical tool (SPSS.v23).

21
3.7 Validity

The instrument was scrutinized by the researcher’s supervisors and found

it useful for the study at hand. Equally, 3 senior lecturers in the faculty of

education and have gone through and made some adjustment on the selection of

the items and found it appropriate for this type of study.

3.8 Reliability

The reliability and validity of the research instrument was determined.

The Pearson Correlation Coefficient was used to determine the reliability of the

instrument. A co-efficient value of 0.68 indicated that the research instrument

was relatively reliable. According to (Taber, 2017) the range of a reasonable

reliability is between 0.67 and 0.87.

3.9 Data Collection Procedure

3.9.1 Ethical Consideration

The study was approved by the Principals of the schools. Informed consent was

obtained from all study participants before they were enrolled in the study.

Permission was sought from the relevant authorities to carry out the study. Date

to visit the place of study for questionnaire distribution was put in place in

advance.

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 CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

4.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the analysis of data derived through the questionnaire and

key informant interview administered on the respondents in the study area. The

analysis and interpretation were derived from the findings of the study. The data

analysis depicts the simple frequency and percentage of the respondents as well

as interpretation of the information gathered. A total of One Hundred and

Twenty (120) questionnaires were administered to respondents of which were

returned and validated. For this study a total of 200 was validated for the

analysis.

4.2 GENERAL INFORMATION

The table below shows the summary of the survey. A sample of 302 was

calculated for this study.

Table 4.1: Distribution of Questionnaire

Questionnaire Frequency Percentage

Sample size 120 100
Received 120 100
Validated 120 100
Source: Field Survey, 2021

Table 4.2:4.2 General Information of respondents

23
Demographic Frequency Percent

information
Gender
56 47%
Male
Female 64 53%

Marital Status
45 38%
Single
Married 55 46%
Separated 14 11%
Widow 6 5%
Age
32 26%
24-30
31-37 48 40%
38-44 26 22%
45+ 14 12%
Educational level
NCE/OND 34 28%
BSC/HND 70 59%
MSC/PGDE 16 13%
Source: Field Survey, 2021

From the table above 47% of the respondent are male. 53% of the respondents

are female. 38% of the respondents are Single. 46% of the respondents are

married. 11% of the respondents are separated. 5% of the respondents are

widowed. 26% of the respondents are aged between 24-30years. 40% of the

respondents are aged between 31-37 Years. 22% of the respondents are aged

between 38-44year. 12% of the respondents are aged between 45 years and

above.

4.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

24
QUESTION 1: What is childhood trauma,?

OPTION Yes(%) No Uncertai Total

n %

Adverse childhood experiences. 120 00 00 120

(100%) (%) (%) (100%)

Childhood neglect & abandonment, 120 00 00 120

(100%) (%) (%) (100%)

Child physical abuse 120 00 00 120

(100%) (%) (%) (100%)

Child witnessing abuse of sibling or one 120 00 00 120

parent by the other (100%) (%) (%) (100%)

Field Survey 2021

From the responses derived from the table above, 100% of the respondent said

yes, there was no record for No or Uncertain.

QUESTION 2: What is resilience and locus control?

OPTION Yes No Uncertai Total

(%) (%) n (%)

(%)
 ability to mentally of one to protect self 120 00 00 120

from the potential negative effects of (100%) (%) (%) (100%)

stressors"
Ability of one to emotionally cope with a 120 00 00 120

crisis or to return to pre-crisis status (100%) (%) (%) (100%)

quickly.
Ability to Positively adapt to traumatic 120 00 00 120

25
 situation (100%) (%) (%) (100%)
A person ability to control the decision 120 00 00 120

they make under traumatic (100%) (%) (%) (100%)

circumstance
Field survey 2021

From the responses derived in the table above, 100% of the respondent said yes

to the option, there was no record of No

QUESTION 3: What is the deviant behaviors among secondary school

children?

OPTION Yes No Uncertai Total

(%) (%) n (%)

(%)
 Stealing fighting, and dishonesty, 120 00 00 120

(100%) (%) (%) (100%)

Destruction of school properties, 120 00 00 120

(100%) (%) (%) (100%)

Disobedience to school authority, 120 00 00 120

(100%) (%) (%) (100%)

Truancy, assault, insult, carrying weapons, 120 00 00 120

(100%) (%) (%) (100%)

26
Sexual indulgence and aggression. 120 00 00 120

(100%) (%) (%) (100%)

Field Survey 2021

From the responses derived in the table above, 100% of the respondent said yes

to the option, there was no record of No.

QUESTION 4: What is the relationship between childhood trauma, resilience

and locus of control as predictors of deviant behaviors among secondary school

students?

OPTION Yes No Uncertai Total

(%) (%) n (%)

(%)
 Childhood trauma can lead the child 120 00 00 120

trauma can determine child perception of (100%) (%) (%) (100%)

the world
Childhood trauma can lead child into 120 00 00 120

deviant behaviour (100%) (%) (%) (100%)

The child’s ability to handle adversity 120 00 00 120

can help him/her to control their (100%) (%) (%) (100%)

behaviour rather than choosing deviance

27
 The child’s ability to endure abuse and 120 00 00 120

trauma can help them to restrain the (100%) (%) (%) (100%)

pressure to behave defiantly

Field Survey 2021

From the responses derived in the table above, 100% of the respondent said yes

to the option, there was no record of No

QUESTION 5: Do you think there is a significant relationship between

childhood trauma, resilience and locus of control as predictors of deviant

behaviors among secondary school students?

Options Frequency Percentages

Yes 65 54
No 35 29
Undecided 20 17
Total 120 100
Field Survey 2021

From the responses derived in the table above, 54% of the responses said Yes.

29% of the said No. 17% of the responses were Uncertain

4.3 Testing Hypothesis

Level of significance: 0.01

Decision Rule:

In taking decision for “r”, the following riles shall be observed;

i) If the value of “r” tabulated is greater than “r” calculated, accept the

alternative hypothesis (H1) and reject the null hypothesis (H0).

28
ii) If the “r” calculated is greater than the “r” tabulated, accept the null

hypothesis (H0) while the alternative hypothesis is rejected

29
Hypothesis One:

Table 4: Pearson Correlation Table showing the relationship between

childhood trauma (CT), resilience (RS) and locus of control (LOC) as

predictors of deviant behaviours (DB) among secondary school students.

CT R LOC DB
Child Pearson 1 1 1 .821**

Trauma Correlation
Sig. (2- .000

tailed)
N 120 120 120 120
Resilience Pearson 1 1 1 .821**

Correlation
Sig. (2- .000

tailed)
N 120 120 120 120
Locus of Pearson 1 1 1 .821**

Control Correlation
Sig. (2- .000

tailed)
N 120 120 120 120
Academic Pearson .821** .821** .821** 1

Performance Correlation
Sig. (2- .000 .000 .000

tailed)
N 120 120 120 120
Source: Survey data, 2021

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)

30
The Pearson Correlation result in Table 1 contains the degree of association

between CT, RS, LOC and DB. From the result, the Pearson correlation

coefficient, r, value of 0.821 was positive and statistically significant at (p<

0.000). This indicates that there is a significant relationship between childhood

trauma (CT), resilience (RS) and locus of control (LOC) as predictors of deviant

behaviours (DB) among secondary school students.

31
 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Summary

The study examines childhood trauma, resilience and locus of control as

predictors of deviance behavior among secondary school student of Keffi South

in Nasarawa State as case Study. The study employed survey research design

and purposive sampling method. Using the purposive sampling, the researcher

conveniently selected one hundred and twenty respondents who are principal,

counsellor, head teachers and class teachers in ten (10) selected secondary

school in Ogbomosho L.G.A which form the population for the study. Data was

analysed using frequency and tables which provided answers to the research

questions. Hypothesis was tested using Pearson correlation statistical tool

(SPSS).

5.2 CONCLUSION

Childhood abuse, emotional neglect, abandonment t are all actions or inaction

of the adults towards the child, taken into consideration within the concept

of trauma, are viewed as inappropriate and harmful by social rules and experts

due to causing damage to various stages of child’s development and

endangering health and safety and on the adverse can lure a child into deviant

behaviour.

32
Children who exposed to high risk condition such as exposure to maternal

depression or community violence, physical abuse or death of a parent begins to

view the world as a hostile place, thus this affects their behavior.

However a childs’ potentials, strengths, internal resources, emotional self-

efficacy and positive characteristics during this traumatic experiences shapes

how he/she chooses to cope with the situation.

Children with high level of resilience control themselves in the midst of the

pressure to engage in crime. Instead of reacting negatively by deviance due to

the emotional and mental stressors presented through trauma, they find a

positive way to cope.

Therefore from the findings of the study, there is a significant relationship

between child trauma,resilience locus of control and deviant behaviour among

secondary school student hence the research concludes that child

trauma,resilience locus of control are predictors of deviance among secondary

school student

5.3 RECOMMENDATION

From the aforementioned conclusion, it is recommended that

 Parents should step up their parenting style and caution their children on the

disadvantages on engaging in deviant behaviour

 Morse, the school counselors should cautioned student from acting

delinquently as this may be of negative impacts to the destiny, society as

well as making them crime victim.

33
 Also, government parastatals should develop policies needed to regulate

delinquent behavior act in the society.

34
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39
QUESTIONNAIRE

PLEASE TICK [√] YOUR MOST PREFERRED CHOICE AND AVOID

TICKING TWICE ON A QUESTION

SECTION A

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Gender

Male [ ] Female [ ]

Age

24-30 [ ]

31-36 [ ]

37+ [ ]

Educational level

NCE/OND [ ]

BSC/HND [ ]

MSC/PGDE [ ]

SECTION B

QUESTION 1: What is childhood trauma,?

OPTION Yes No Uncertain

adverse childhood experiences.

Childhood neglect&abandonment,
Child physical abuse

40
Child witnessing abuse of sibling or one parent by

the other

QUESTION 2:What is resilience and locus control?

OPTION Yes No Uncertain

 ability to mentally of one to protect self from the

potential negative effects of stressors"

Ability of one to emotionally cope with a crisis or to

return to pre-crisis status quickly.

Ability to Positively adapt to traumatic situation
A person ability to control the decision they make

under traumatic circumstance

QUESTION 3: What is the deviant behaviors among secondary school

children?

OPTION Yes No Uncertain

 Stealingfighting, and dishonesty,

destruction of school properties,
disobedience to school authority,
truancy, assault, insult, carrying weapons,
sexual indulgence and aggression.

41
QUESTION 4: What is the relationship between childhood trauma, resilience

and locus of control as predictors of deviant behaviors among secondary school

students?

OPTION Yes No Uncertain

(%) (%) (%)

 Childhood trauma can lead the child trauma can

determine child perception of the world

Childhood trauma can lead child into deviant

behaviour
The child’s ability to handle adversity can help

him/her to control their behaviour rather than

choosing deviance
The child’s ability to endure abuse and trauma can

help them to restrain the pressure to behave

defiantly

QUESTION 5: Do you think there is a significant relationship between

childhood trauma, resilience and locus of control as predictors of deviant

behaviors among secondary school students?

Options PLEASE TICK

Yes
No
Undecided

42