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Abstract
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Crime has been the bane of the Nigerian society in recent times. This study investigated the influence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and socio-economic status (SES) on criminal behaviour. The role of education qualification level on criminal behaviour was also examined. A standardized self-report questionnaire was administered to a purposively selected two hundred and fifty-three (n = 253) inmates in Agodi Correctional Centre Ibadan, Nigeria. The participants' age ranged between 20 and 53 years with a mean age of 30 years (± 9.7).
FINDINGS revealed that 62 (24.5%) inmates committed armed robbery, 55 (21.7%) were charged for internet fraud, 47 (18.5%) were charged for property-related offences, while 35 (13.8%) committed murder. Adverse childhood experiences (family environment, peer violence, community violence, and exposure to war/collective violence) had significant independent and joint prediction on criminal behaviour (R2 = .78; F (4248) = 61.1; p = 01). Similarly, adverse childhood experiences had significant influence on general conflict tactic (R2 = .62; F (4248) = 11.2; p = .01), property crime (R2 = .37; F (4248) = 8.5; p = .05), interpersonal crime (R2 = .42; F (4248) = 10.5; p = .04), and drug crime (R2 = .61; F (4248) = 11.2; p = .02). Inmates with low economic status were more likely to commit violent crime than inmates with high SES (t (251) = 3.26; p = 0.02). Younger inmates (t (251) = 5.32; p = .01) and those with low education (t (251) = 4.11; p = 0.01) committed more violent crime than older and highly educated inmates. Ethnicity had significant influence on criminal behaviour (F (1, 252) = 6.27; p = .002). Attention needs to be shifted to management of childhood adversity and improving socio-economic status for crime control in Nigeria.
Language: en |