The Influence of Self-esteem, on Students’ Deviant Behaviours in Federal Universities, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was conducted in Federal Universities situated in Southern Nigeria to determine the influence of self esteem on student’s deviant behaviours. Research questions and hypothesis were formulated to guide the study. Descriptive survey design was adopted. The population of study was 69,152 students as at the time of study (2009/2010 Academic Session). The sample size was made up 1,524. The research instrument utilized for data collection was questionnaire which was constructed by the researcher, validated and administered to students. After retrieval and screened, 1,491 copies of the questionnaire were utilized. Data were analyzed using independent-t test to test the hypothesis at 5% level of significance. The findings show that there was no significant influence of  self esteem on student’s  deviant behaviours. However, there was a significant influence of students’ self esteem on their sexually related deviant behaviours. Based on the findings, some recommendations were made which includes the use of collaborative efforts in curbing sexually related deviant behaviors.