FAMILY VARIABLES AND DEVIANT BEHAVIOUR TENDENCY AMONG STUDENTS OF CATHOLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN CALABAR EDUCATION ZONE OF CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study adopted ex-post facto research design to examine the influence of family variables in terms of Family type and parenting styles on students with deviant behaviour in Catholic Secondary Schools in Calabar Education Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria. Two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study.  The selection was carried out using stratified random sampling technique. A questionnaire titled, titled “Family Variables and Deviant Behavior Questionnaire” (FVDB-Q) was the instrument used for data collection. The instrument was subjected to face validity by three experts in Measurement and Evaluation. Cronbach alpha reliability method was used to estimate the reliability of the instrument, a reliability index .84 for the instrument was obtained. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) analysis was adopted to test the hypotheses at .05 level of significance.The result of the analysis revealed that, Family type and parenting style both have significant influence on students’ deviant behaviour tendency among Catholic secondary school students in Calabar Education Zone of Cross-River State, Nigeria. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended, among others, that There should be periodic re-training of family counsellors, bearing in mind the dynamics of students’ activities and how to eliminate deviant behaviour among students.