A Psychosocial Appraisal of Social Maladjustment Behaviour of Selected Adolescents in Yaba Regiopolis, Lagos State, Nigeria
[1]
Arogundade Odunayo Tunde, Department of Behavioural Studies, Redeemer's University, Ede, Osun State, Nigeria.
[2]
Amure Boluwatife, Department of Behavioural Studies, Redeemer's University, Ede, Osun State, Nigeria.
This study presents the findings of a study done on the appraisal of psychosocial factors responsible for social maladjustment behaviour among selected adolescents in Yaba regiopolis, Lagos state, Nigeria. The sample for the study consisted of three hundred (300) participants, (males = 150 and females= 150 adolescents) from ten secondary schools in Yaba regiopolis. Data were collected with a battery of psychological tests consisting of Social Maladjustment Scale (SMS), Index of Self-Esteem (ISE) and Index of Family Relations (IFR). The data were analyzed using independent t-test to statistically test the four hypotheses proposed in this study at 0.01 level of significance. The results of the analyses showed that adolescents who have a high self-esteem reported a significantly higher susceptibility to social maladjustment behaviour compared to their counterparts with a low self-esteem. Adolescents from private secondary schools reported significantly higher social maladjustment behaviour compared to their counterparts in public schools; and the younger adolescents (13-16) were more socially maladjusted compared to older adolescents (17-20). However, there was no significant difference reported on social maladjustment behaviour based on family relations and gender status. The major implication of these findings is that psychological construct like self-esteem may be potent enough to manage the problems associated with social maladjustment behaviour among adolescents. Thus, educational programmes should be tailored to promote healthy self-esteem that will enable adolescents cope with social situations.
Social Maladjustment, Self-Esteem, Family Relations, Adolescents
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