Nigerian Journal of Applied Behavioural Sciences

This study investigated the extent to which self-efficacy and emotional intelligence could determine problem solving skills of widows. The participants were 92 widows whose ages ranged between 34-62 years (Mage = 48; SD = 9.48). They responded to measures of self-efficacy, emotional intelligence, and problem solving. The results of the multiple regression showed that widows’ problem solving skills were not significantly connected with their level of selfefficacy. However, emotional intelligence significantly predicted problem solving skills such that widows who reported high level of emotional intelligence also reported high problem solving skills. The need for appropriate counselling interventions aimed at enhancing the levels of self-efficacy and emotional intelligence of widows were highlighted. 

There arise some issues bothering on the efficiency and effectiveness of the salesperson performances especially during sales promotion on one hand and his/her willingness to discharge his duties as appropriate on the other hand. Field experience has shown that salesperson tries to benefit either legally or illegally from sales promotion and this has restricted severally the level of success from such promotion especially in Nigeria. One of the problems is the salespersons’ ratings of their compensation during sales promotion. This study, therefore, tries to appraise the relationship between salesperson and their compensation during sales promotion. A sample of 151 valid and purposively collected responses to questionnaire was analysed using descriptive statistics. Results of the One-way ANOVA showed that salespersons who appraised their compensation during sales promotion as very adequate performed significantly better than those who rated their compensation as very inadequate or neither adequate nor inadequate. Therefore, management must repackage compensation plans for the salesperson in order to increase their performance without jeopardising sales promotion goals or profitability of the firm. Management must also be interested in how salespersons feel about their compensation.

Ageing is both a ‘natural’ and universal process; but growing old can be as graceful as it can be traumatic, especially in a transitional society. This crosssectional survey involved 220 elderly persons (74 males; 164 females) selected from Ikare, a semi-urban centre in southwestern, Nigeria. Their ages ranged between 60 and 100 years (Mage = 72.04 years; SD = 12.33). Results showed that majority of the aged did not benefit from ageing-friendly services and could not access health screening services. Results of the χ2 test showed that majority of the highly educated aged people depended on life-savings and not their children compared with the less educated aged. There was no significant gender difference in the participation of the aged in socio-political activities. Finally, there was no significant age difference in the preference for old people’s home among the aged. Implications for theory and practice were discussed. 

Marine fishing had been the mainstay of the Niger Delta's coastal economy since pre- colonial era, due to the littoral characteristics of the region. It had been serving the socio- economic needs of the people adequately. In the wake of oil exploration in Nigeria, from the 1970s, Marine fishing, a highly dependable economic Sector, had been neglected by the youths and governments despite its huge contributions to both regional and national developments. The thrust of this paper therefore, is unraveling the history of Marine fishing, the physical characteristics of the Niger Delta, its suitability for Marine fishing, as well as environmental and human inhibitions of marine fishing in the region. The study adopted historical narrative method of oral interview, and use of text books and journals. The study also made some recommendations for improvement and sustenance of Marine fishing in the face of peculiar environmental conditioning. 

This study explored issues associated with positive ageing. It was a descriptive survey involving 300 elderly women within the age range of 60-70 years. They responded to a 19-item scale on ageing. The results of the cross-tabulation showed that ageing was perceived to be associated with negative consequences such as degenerating diseases. Majority of the participants indicated that counselling could be an important tool for shaping people’s attitude towards ageing and old people. They also agreed that Old People’s Home may not enhance positive ageing. Quality social interaction and regular medical checkups were regarded by majority of the respondents as ways of enhancing positive ageing. Implications of the findings for counselling were discussed

The Nigerian youth, especially undergraduates are increasingly engaging in gambling, which predisposes them to problem or pathological gambling and thus calls for special concern. Several factors have been found to influence gambling behaviour however, studies are skewed toward males and few have examined the role of social norms in Nigeria. This study, therefore, evaluates gender differences and social norms in gambling behaviour among regulars at gambling centers around a university community in the South East Local Government Area of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. The study adopted a cross sectional research survey design. Convenience sampling technique was used to select 272 (161= males; 111=females) participants (M =23.50; SD=4.58). They responded to measures of South Oaks Gambling (α = 0.89) and Social Norms (α = 0.86). Independent sample t-test analysis was used to test the formulated hypotheses. Results revealed that there were gender differences in gambling behaviour [t (270) = 3.73; p<.01]; with male participants [M=41.04, SD =15.45] significantly reporting more gambling behaviour compared with female participants [M=33.99, SD= 15.07]. Moreover, social norms significantly influenced gambling behaviour [t (270) =-7.64, p<.01] in such a way that participants with high social norms [M= 45.00, SD= 15.85] significantly reported more gambling behaviour than participants with low social norms [M=31.80, SD= 12.51]. The study concluded that social norms play a key role in influencing gambling behaviour and although males were more predisp

The Nigerian youth, especially undergraduates are increasingly engaging in gambling, which predisposes them to problem or pathological gambling and thus calls for special concern. Several factors have been found to influence gambling behaviour however, studies are skewed toward males and few have examined the role of social norms in Nigeria. This study, therefore, evaluates gender differences and social norms in gambling behaviour among regulars at gambling centers around a university community in the South East Local Government Area of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. The study adopted a cross sectional research survey design. Convenience sampling technique was used to select 272 (161= males; 111=females) participants (M =23.50; SD=4.58). They responded to measures of South Oaks Gambling (α = 0.89) and Social Norms (α = 0.86). Independent sample t-test analysis was used to test the formulated hypotheses. Results revealed that there were gender differences in gambling behaviour [t (270) = 3.73; p<.01]; with male participants [M=41.04, SD =15.45] significantly reporting more gambling behaviour compared with female participants [M=33.99, SD= 15.07]. Moreover, social norms significantly influenced gambling behaviour [t (270) =-7.64, p<.01] in such a way that participants with high social norms [M= 45.00, SD= 15.85] significantly reported more gambling behaviour than participants with low social norms [M=31.80, SD= 12.51]. The study concluded that social norms play a key role in influencing gambling behaviour and although males were more predisp

Few empirical studies exist on the association of resilience and gender with suicidal ideation among prison inmates in Nigeria. Therefore, this study investigated resilience and gender as predictors of suicidal ideation among prison inmates in a South-Western State in Nigeria. One hundred and eighty (180) inmates (103 men and 77 women) were selected from two prisons using purposive and accidental sampling techniques. Resilience was measured using Dispositional Resilience Scale (DRS) and Suicidal Ideation was measured using the Modified Scale for Suicidal Ideation (MSSI). Two hypotheses were formulated and tested using simple linear regressions analysis, and t-test. Resilience significantly predicted suicidal ideation (β = -.43 p < 0.01). Result also revealed that gender had a significant difference on suicidal ideation among inmates [t (248) = -5.50; p<0.05]. Based on these findings, it was recommended that prison management needs to attend to the suicide ideation of inmates and possible related factors by organizing training that will foster resilience with the intention of preventing suicidal ideation among inmates bearing in mind their gender differences.

The psychological contract is an important area of study to human resource 

researchers and practitioners. Increasing recognition of the importance of human 

resources in enhancing organizational performance, coupled with wider concerns 

about reputation and competitions have made the issues of psychological 

contract of relevance to researchers and those managing organisations. This 

study is a response to the call for more study in the developing countries and 

non-western culturally based societies. Employees’ turnover is now a cardinal 

issue in Nigerian banking industry. Employee turnover intention is greater than 

normal in banks and therefore serves as a key threat to the existence of most 

banks. It is posited that psychological contract influence employee intention to 

leave an organization. The study aimed to investigate the direct influence of 

psychological contract on turnover intention. Cross sectional survey method was 

used in collecting data from 530 samples. Regression analysis was conducted to 

test the hypotheses (based on confirmatory factor analysis). The findings 

revealed that balanced psychological contract have more negative significant 

influence on employee turnover intention in the Nigerian banking industry than 

other dimensions of psychological contract. Therefore, it is recommended that 

managers should align the perceptions of employees toward making them to 

perceive the banking environment as a good platform for career progression.

The study examined socio-demographic variables, peer pressure, and
substance abuse as predictors of risky sexual behaviour among
adolescents in some selected secondary schools in Ibadan, Nigeria.
The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design to collect self-report
data among a random selected sample of 1008 in-school adolescents.
Three hypotheses were tested in the study using independent sample t -
test and regression analysis. Results showed that socio-demographic
variables of class at school, age and sex have significant joint influence
on risky sexual behaviour, F(3,1004)=54.66, p<.001). Further results
showed that age (β=-.181; t=-4.870; p<.001) and gender (β=.276;
t=8.960; p<.001) have significant influence on risky sexual behavior.
The findings imply that adolescents who are susceptibl e to peer
pressure are likely to report more risky sexual behavior tendencies. It
was recommended that psychologists should be involved in school
system in Nigeria to provide psychological counselling on substance
use, peer pressure and risky sexual behavior to adolescents.

Negotiation is an integral part of human existence and interpersonal relationships. Negotiation and its use in today’s work environment has been an area of increased interest in today’s work environment. The field of negotiation has large unexplored potential in determining the cognitive and psychological factors which can predict consistent and satisfying outcomes in negotiations. This study therefore investigated the dimensions of emotional intelligence time constraints and gender as predictors of satisfaction outcome of negotiators. A multivariate research design was adopted using four hundred and fifty participants who were selected purposively for this study. Two hypotheses were tested and analyzed using Pearson correlation and multiple regression statistical tools. Results showed that appraisal of emotions correlated positively with perceived satisfaction outcome (r= 0.888; p< .01). Also, regulation of emotion related negatively with perceived satisfaction outcome (r = -0.315; p< .01). Furthermore, utilization of emotion also related negatively with perceived satisfaction outcome (r = -0.256; p< .01). Likewise, time constraint correlated positively with perceived satisfaction outcome (r = 0.942; p< .01). Lastly, gender was not significantly related with perceived satisfaction outcome (r = -0.005; p>.01). Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended among others that managers should ensure that their recruitment and selection exercises are well channeled to employ individuals who possess high levels of emotional intelligence as employees who are able to appraise or express their emotions and that of others are able to perform satisfactorily in negotiations. Also, time was discovered as an important aspect of negotiation. Negotiators should therefore ensure that the negotiation process is done in an unconstrained time environment. This will enhance the quality of satisfaction of negotiations. In like manner, for high success to be recorded in negotiations, negotiators should desist from making gender biases and prejudices. The better negotiator should be allowed the freedom to negotiate irrespective of whether it is a male or female. 

The study examined the influence of self-regulated learning, moral competence, self-esteem and some demographic factors (gender and academic level) on self-reported examination malpractices among undergraduates. Survey research method was employed. Using convenient sampling technique, participants, 119 males (43.3%) and 156 female (56.7%) were selected from two universities in Ondo State. They completed self-report measures on self-regulated learning, moral competence, self-esteem and examination malpractices. The hypothesis tested using simple linear multiple regression. The results showed independent significant influence of self-esteem (β= -.15, p<.05) and gender (β= .19, p < .01) on examination malpractices. Further results showed that self-regulated learning, moral competence, self-esteem, gender and academic level contributed jointly to examination malpractices [R = .24, R2= -06, F (5, 269) = 3.37, p>.05]. They accounted for 6% variance in examination malpractices. Based on these findings, it is recommended that counseling services which promote self-esteem and help orientate on examination malpractices be made available to students in tertiary institutions in Ondo state to curb this menace. 

This paper examines if significant difference exists in the work behaviour of employees 

based on nature of employment (permanent or temporary). Survey method was used to 

conduct the study and the study respondents were employees of Guaranty Trust Bank in 

Ilorin metropolis, a judgmental sampling technique was used to select 107 employees; 

questionnaire was used to elicit information from the respondents. 98 copies of 

questionnaire were returned and only 90 copies were found to be useful for analysis. 

Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyse the data after it was found that the distribution 

of the sample data was deviating from normal based on the Shapiro-Wick result. Two 

hypotheses were tested to achieve the study objectives. The two hypotheses show that 

significant differences existed in the work commitment level and labour turnover 

intentions of employees due to the differences in their nature of employment. The results 

showed that, comparatively, job commitment level of individuals on temporary nature of 

appointment was lower than those on permanent appointment. Employees on temporary 

nature of appointment had a higher tendency of leaving the organization compared with 

those on permanent nature of appointment. Based on the above, the study concluded that 

temporary nature of appointment had negative effects on work behaviours of bank 

employees. The study thus recommended that utilization of temporary nature of 

appointment should be discouraged in order to reduce labour turnover prospect and 

improve the commitment level of all and sundry in the organisation.

Poor orientation, socialisation, networking and professionalization in
teachers’ professional development can negatively affect teachers’ job
satisfaction and thus result in low performance. Teachers who are
dissatisfied with their jobs and are poorly motivated are not likely to
perform well and could even behave unprofessionally. This study was
conducted to determine the impact of Cluster Training Strategy on
Primary School Teachers' Job Satisfaction and Performance. The study
was a quasi-experimental type leading to a pre-examination and post-
examination of primary school teachers’ job satisfaction and
performance. A total of 500 primary school teachers were selected by
simple random sampling from ten cluster school centres during the
2014 SUBEB and UBEC teacher professional development programme
in Ogun State. Data were collected with a self-constructed
Questionnaire on Teachers’ Job Satisfaction and Performance
(QTJSP) and the data were analysed using descriptive statistics and
repeated measures t-test. The study anchored on Social Learning
Theory. The results of analysis of data showed that primary school
teacher job satisfaction and performance improved immediately after
the cluster training programme. It was recommended amongst others
that the cluster training strategy should be adopted as the mode of re-
training primary school teachers in Nigerian educational system.

This study examined the effect of gender and peer pressure on conformity among randomly 60 (30 males & 30 females) students in senior secondary school. A 2 by 2 factorial experimental design. Their ages range between 12 to 17 years. Data collected were analyzed using two-way Analysis of Variance. Results revealed that gender had no significant main effect on conformity among participants, F(1, 36) = 3.675, p > .05}. Similarly, peer pressure had no significant main effect on conformity of participants, F(1, 36) = 0.800, p > .05). Both gender and peer pressure had no significant joint effect on conformity of participants, F(1, 36) = 1.323, p > .0). It is concluded that gender and peer pressure are not significant determinants of conformity among students in this study. 

The preponderance of terrorists’ activities in recent times especially those exhibited by Niger Delta Militants and Boko Haram (BH) Insurgency have been responsible for the hardship faced by Nigeria citizens. Food security has been under threats since the emergence of series of attacks by these terrorist groups which also affect national development. Using a descriptive-analytical approach, this paper appraised the impact of terrorism on food insecurity in a populous Nigeria. The study suggested that activities of BH sect and Niger Delta militants have posed challenges to achievement of quality and quantity of food demand and flow of food across the states in Nigeria as a result of population displacement, death, non-cultivation of farmlands and the burning down of agricultural produce. There is need for the enthronement of good governance in which opportunities are created for the teaming population to have a source of living and poverty reduction to form a uniform response to the threats posed to food security and sustainable development by terrorist activities in Nigeria. 

The descriptive survey research design was adopted to investigate the 

relationship of parental involvement with academic self-efficacy and interest 

among senior secondary school students. The simple random sampling technique 

was used to select the one hundred and twenty seven (127) secondary school 

students for the study. A self-constructed questionnaire was the instrument of 

data collection. The results indicated that there was no significant relationship 

between parental involvement and academic self-efficacy. Similarly, learners’ 

interest was not significantly related with parental level of education. However, 

there was a significant positive relationship between parental involvement and 

learners’ interest. The study further indicated a significant relationship between 

parental level of education and academic self-efficacy. The need for all parents, 

irrespective of their educational background, to be involved in the school life of 

their wards was emphasized.

This study investigated the extent to which childhood trauma predict
adults’ emotional functioning (depression, anxiety and stress) among
adults in Ondo state. Sample comprised 469 adults (114 health
workers, 130 ministry workers & 225 students), whose ages averaged
29.61 (SD = 9.23), 270 males and 199 females. Instruments used were
Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) with a self-
report retrospective 25 item developed by Bernstein and Fink (1998)
and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) developed by
Lovibonds and Lovibonds (1995). Using Multiple Regression Analysis,
results showed that the five dimensions of Childhood trauma
(emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional neglect and
physical neglect) were strong factors in predicting depression, anxiety
and stress. Based on these findings, clinical relevance of the data was
discussed and early intervention for childhood trauma to prevent
negative emotional functioning was recommended.

The study focused on the effect of teamwork on organizational productivity using a case study of MRS Oil Plc, Headquaters, Onikan, Lagos, Nigeria. The purposes of this study are to examine the effect of teamwork on organizational productivity, and also to assess the impact of gender equality in team formation on organizational productivity. The study adopted a survey designed method. The study made use of eighty (80) samples that were selected through simple random techniques among the staff of MRS Oil Plc, Headquaters, Onikan, Lagos State. A self-designed instrument titled “Teamwork and Productivity Inventory (TPI)” was used for the study. Four hypotheses raised for the study were stated and analysed using Pearson Moment Correlation Statistical tool. The result revealed that the presence of the high involvement of teamwork is positively related to organizational productivity; also, the result showed interpersonal relationship and team has significant relationship with organizational productivity. The result also showed that gender inequality in a team does encourage high organizational productivity. Finally, the result revealed that lack of training and development can hinder growth of organizational productivity. Based on the findings, it was recommended that it is important to develop a business environment where employees are well satisfied with their jobs and cooperative with each other in other to utilize their full potential in their jobs. 

In Nigeria, despite massive religious involvement, the problem of most adolescents in recent times is that 

they lack social competence due to psychological inhibition such as spiritual abuse. Thus, this study utilised 

both Dialectical Behaviour and Acceptance- Commitment Therapies in improving social competence of 

adolescents who are victims of spiritual abuse. The research adopted a pre-test, post-test and control group 

quasi-experimental design with a 3x3x2 factorial design. Results showed that Dialectical Behaviour and 

Acceptance-Commitment Therapies had significant main effects on the social competence of the spiritually 

abused adolescents. Also, Acceptance-Commitment Therapy was the most effective method in enhancing 

social competence of spiritually abused adolescents when compared with the Dialectical Behaviour 

Therapy (M= 382.39, SD = 8.24) and the control group (M= 342.91, SD = 9.44) respectively. Spiritual 

abuse has no significant effect on participants social competence. This means that there is no significant 

main effect of spiritual abuse on social competence of the participants. Further, there was no significant 

main effect of gender on social competence. This means that there was no gender difference in social 

competence. It is recommended that therapists working should employ both techniques in improving social 

competence skills among adolescents particularly those with spiritual abuse.