Prevalence of Primary and Secondary Deviance among Secondary School Students in Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the prevalence of primary and secondary deviance among secondary school students in Southwestern Nigeria. It also determined the relationship between the prevalence of primary and secondary deviance and students’ gender and family structure. The sample size comprised 627 students selected using a multi-stage sampling procedure. A researcher-designed and validated instrument tagged ‘’Deviance Behaviour Scale (DBS)’’ and Socio-metric Guide were used to collect data for the study. Frequency counts, percentage and Chi-square were used to analyse the data used for the study. Results revealed that primary deviance was more prevalent among secondary school students in the study area. Also, while a significant relationship was found between the prevalence of primary and secondary deviance and students’ gender, there was no significant relationship between the prevalence of primary and secondary deviance and students’ family structure in the study area. The study concluded that that primary deviance was more prevalent among secondary schools’ students in Southwestern Nigeria. However, while students’ gender was a determinant factor of engagement in deviant behaviours but family structure was not.