PREVALENCE AND CORRELATES OF PEER VICTIMIZATION AMONG ADOLESCENTS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SAGAMU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Violence cuts across generations, it affects every segment of the society and it is particularly common among school-going adolescents. Peer victimization is an aspect of school violence that makes students fearful of school , and inhibils their learning potentials. Peer-victimization has been found to be a universal phenomenon among children. It can lead to very grave consequences in the emerging adult. However, there is need to determine the extent of the problem and identify factors influencing its occurrence. This will ensure protection of the vulnerable students. This study therefore seeks to determine the prevalence and describe the correlates of peer victimization among young adolescents. This study was cross-sectional in design. It was carried out among ,adolescents aged 10- 15 years in Junior classes one through three. A total of 850 respondents were selected using a three stage random sampling technique. The first stage was a random selection of four schools via the use of table of random numbers from the list of public secondary schools in Sagamu Local Government Area It entailed proportional allocation of respondents among the selected schools. This was calculated based on the number of eligible students in each of the schools. In the second stage. the proportion was then distributed among the first two arms (A and B) in each class and the third stage was a systematic random selection to select every Nth student from each class. A pretested and validated 23- item semi structured questionnaire comprising of six sections was use to collect data from respondents. The questionnaire comprised questions on sociodemographic characteristics; the extent to which they had experienced or perpetrated physical, verbal and psychosocial forms of victimization; factors associated with the experience and perpetration; and health consequences. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics to show frequency tables and chi square tests of association was carried out between selected socio demographic characteristics, factors associated with peer victimization experience and perpetration (independent variables) and the experience and perpetration of peer victimization (outcome variables). Multivariate analysis was then carried out among the significant variables to determine the degree of association. Majority of respondents (51.4%) were males, 85 .9% were Yorubas and 68% were Christians. The prevalence of experience of peer victimization was 93.5%. Respondents who had experienced physical victimization were 794(93.6%), verbal viccimization were 694(81.6%) and psychosocial victimization 763(89.9%). The most common types of peer victimization experienced were fighting (68.2%), cursing (55.1%) and stealing (67.2%). Lifetime reports of perpetration of physical, verbal and psychosocial peer victimization among males were 77.2%, 82.5% and 63% respectively. Insecure personality and gender were found to be significant predictors of the experience of peer victimization, while age, desire to conceal shame, bad temper and Jealousy were significant predictors of the perpetration of peer victimization (p<0.1). Comprehensive interventions targeting students, schools and teachers are recommended to address this problem.