Perception of Parental Bonding and Tendency to Perpetrate Aggressive Behaviour in a Sample of Nigerian Students

The research investigated the extent to which the tendency to perpetrate aggressive behaviour (measured by the Aggressive Questionnaire) among some secondary students in Nigeria is influenced by parental bonding (measured by the Parental Bonding Instrument). Cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from a total of 250 randomly selected respondents aged 15-19 years. They comprised of males 140 (56%) and females 110 (44%). It was found that parental bonding had significant influence on the tendency to perpetrate aggressive behaviour (F = 71.361, df = 3,249, p < 0.01). This finding suggests that students who perceived their parents as caring reported fewer tendencies to perpetrate aggressive acts. Therefore, psychologists need to provide suitable psychological interventions that are targeted towards both parents and children in order to reduce incidence of aggression among adolescent learners. It is recommended that interventions that incorporate social cognitive theory (SCT) components that focus on helping parents to deter their children’s involvement in aggression are vital.