SELF-EFFICACY AS PREDICTOR OF AGRRESIVE BEHAVIOURS AMONG UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATES IN SOUTH EAST, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined self-efficacy as predictor of aggressive behaviour among university undergraduate in South East Nigeria. Two research questions guided the study and two null hypotheses were tested at .05 level of significance. The study adopted correlational research design. The population of the study comprised 5,401(1,858 students from Micheal Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, 1,801 students from Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka and 1,742 students from University of Nigeria Nsukka) final year Faculty of Education students in the year 2019/2020 academic session. A sample of 540 students was used for the study. Multistage sampling procedure was used to draw the sample. The instruments for data collection were Students Self-Efficacy Scale (SSES) and Students Aggression Scale (SAS₂). Cronbach Alpha reliability technique was used to determine the internal consistency of the instruments which gave indices of 0.76 and 0.83 for SSES and SAS₂ respectively. Simple Linear Regression Analysis and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used for the data analysis. The study revealed that self-efficacy (r = 0.781; p = 0.001), aggressive behaviour of male and female (r = 0.573 and 0.774; p = 0.000) students positively and significantly predicted aggressive behaviour among university undergraduates in South East, Nigeria. Based on the findings, the study recommended that educational institution should implement gender-specific interventions addressing self-efficacy to manage aggressive behaviour among university students in South East, Nigeria, based on the significant predictive role identified for both male and female undergraduates.