LONELINESS AND PEER PRESSURE AS FACTORS PREDICTING DELINQUENT BEHAVIOUR AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ILORIN METROPOLIS

Abstract

This study investigated Loneliness and Peer Pressure as Predictors of Delinquent Behaviour Among 
Secondary Schools Students Ilorin Metropolis, Kwara State. The study adopted a correlation research 
design. The population for the study comprises of all senior secondary school students in Ilorin Metropolis. 
Simple Random Sampling Technique was used to select 150 senior secondary school students within Ilorin 
Metropolis. The instruments used for the collection of data were Bench‘s (2003) Loneliness Scale (r = 0.82), 
Peer Pressure Scale (r= 0.73) and Hussain‘s (2004) Delinquency Behaviour Scale (r = 0.59). The data 
collected were analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Multiple Regression. The 
hypotheses were tested at 0.05. The findings revealed that there was significant relationship between 
emotional loneliness and delinquent behaviour among senior secondary school students within Ilorin 
Metropolis (r. calculated = 0.64, df = 198 and P < 0.05); there was significant relationship between peer 
pressure and delinquent behaviour among senior secondary school students within Ilorin Metropolis. (r. 
calculated = 0.64, df = 198 and P < 0.05); there was significant joint contribution of loneliness and peer 
pressure to the prediction of delinquent behaviour among senior secondary school students in Ilorin 
Metropolis Area of Kwara State (AR2 = 0.59, df 2/97 = 71.13 and P < 0.05) and loneliness (β = 0.47) and peer 
pressure (β = 0.46) had significant relative contributions to the prediction of delinquent behaviour among 
senior secondary school students in Ilorin Metropolis. The findings were discussed and necessary 
recommendations based on the findings of this study were put forward. Important suggestions on how 
delinquent behaviour can be curb base on the finding of this study by subsequent efforts on this or similar 
studies are provided