ABSTRACT
The study examined demographic variables and social isolation as predictors of young adults’ aggressive behavior. Three hundred and twenty-four (324) participants made up of one hundred and forty-seven (147) males and one hundred and seventy-seven (177) females were drawn from six (6) faculties; forty-five (45) participants were selected from the faculty of Social Sciences, forty-six (46) participants were selected from the faculty of Arts, sixty-three (63) participants were selected from the faculty of Engineering, forty-five (45) participants were selected from the faculty of Education, forty (40) participants were selected from the faculty of Agriculture, eighty-five (85) participants were selected from the faculty of Business Administration in University of Uyo using multi-stage sampling technique. The participants were young adults with age range between 17-35 years and their mean age was 24.20 years. Ex-post facto design was the design used in this study. Two instruments were used for data collection; these include: the UCLA Loneliness Scale developed by Russell, Peplau and Ferguson (1978) and the Aggression Questionnaire developed by Buss and Perry (1992). Multiple regression analysis and an independent t-test were used to analyze the data collected. Result revealed that only age independently predicted young adults’ aggressive behavior (t = 2.409; p<0.05), however, there was a joint prediction of the demographic variables (gender, age and location) towards young adults’ aggressive behavior [F (3, 319) = 4.290; p<0.05]. Result also revealed that there was no statistical significant difference between young adults who are socially isolated and young adults who are not socially isolated towards exhibition of aggressive behavior (t= -1.776; p>0.05). The results were discussed in relation to the existing theories and empirical studies. Limitations and recommendations for further research were outlined.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page - - - - - - - - - - i
Certification - - - - - - - - - - ii
Dedication - - - - - - - - - - iii
Acknowledgement - - - - - - - - - iv
Table of Contents - - - - - - - - - v
List of Tables - - - - - - - - - vii
Abstracts - - - - - - - - - - viii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Study - - - - - - - - 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem - - - - - - - 16
1.3 Research Questions - - - - - - - - 17
1.4 Purpose of Study - - - - - - - - 17
1.5 Significance of Study - - - - - - - - 18
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Theoretical Framework - - - - - - - 19
2.1.1 Instinct Theory - - - - - - - - - 19
2.1.2 Personality Theory - - - - - - - - 21
2.1.3 Sex Role Theory - - - - - - - - 22
2.1.4 Social Information Processing Theory - - - - - 24
2.1.5 Social Learning Theory - - - - - - - 26
2.1.6 Attachment Theory - - - - - - - - 28
2.2 Empirical Reviews - - - - - - - - 30
2.3 Hypotheses - - - - - - - - - 40
2.4 Operational Definition of Terms - - - - - - 41
CHAPTER THREE: METHOD SECTION
3.1 Design - - - - - - - - - 42
3.2 Setting - - - - - - - - - 42
3.3 Participants - - - - - - - - - 42
3.4 Instrument - - - - - - - - - 43
3.5 Procedure - - - - - - - - - 45
3.6 Statistics - - - - - - - - - 48
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS
4.1 Results - - - - - - - - - 49
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSION
5.1 Discussions of Findings - - - - - - - 53
5.2 Conclusion - - - - - - - - - 54
5.3 Implication of Study - - - - - - - 54
5.4 Recommendations - - - - - - - - 55
5.5 Limitations of the Study - - - - - - - 55
5.6 Suggestions for Further Study - - - - - - 55
REFERENCES
APPENDICES
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Showing a correlation matrix of gender, age, location and
social isolation towards young adults’ aggressive behavior.
Table 2: Summary table of multiple regressions showing relative
Contributions of demographic variables on young adults’
aggressive behavior
Table 3: Summary of Independent t-test result showing significant
Differences in social isolation towards young adults’
aggressive behavior
Figure 1: Multiple Bar chart showing the types and rates of aggression exhibited
by young female adults and young male adults.
