The Role of Substance Abuse, Childhood Trauma, Peer Pressure, Poor Parental Monitoring and Social Media in Fueling Aggression among Delinquent Adolescents in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Aggression among adolescents has become a pressing psychological and educational concern in Nigeria, particularly among students exhibiting delinquent behaviours in secondary schools. This study investigated the predictive roles of substance abuse, childhood trauma, peer pressure, poor parental monitoring, and social media usage on aggression among delinquent secondary school students in Ibadan, Oyo State. A descriptive survey design was adopted, and a total of 128 respondents were selected through a multistage sampling technique. Three local government areas Ibadan North, Ibadan South-West, and Ibadan North-East were randomly selected, with one purposively chosen secondary school from each. Participants were identified using documented cases of delinquent behaviour, and data were collected using standardised measures validated for local use. Data analysis involved Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Multiple Regression at a 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that all five independent variables had significant positive relationships with aggression, indicating that increases in any of these predictors were associated with heightened aggressive tendencies. The variables jointly predicted aggression significantly and accounted for a substantial proportion of the variance observed. Furthermore, substance abuse and childhood trauma emerged as the most potent individual predictors. These outcomes align with extant literature, both locally and globally, highlighting the psychosocial and environmental underpinnings of adolescent aggression. Ethical protocols including informed consent and confidentiality were strictly observed throughout the research. The study concludes that aggression among delinquent adolescents is significantly shaped by both individual and contextual factors, such as emotional trauma, peer influence, and poor familial control. It recommends holistic interventions that address these psychosocial domains, including school-based counselling, parent-focused education, and substance use prevention programmes. The study acknowledges limitations such as its focus on a single city and reliance on self-reported data. Further studies are encouraged to explore longitudinal outcomes and intervention effectiveness across diverse Nigerian regions.

Keywords: Aggression, substance abuse, childhood trauma, peer pressure, parental monitoring, social media usage, delinquency.