LAGUNJU AFOLABI

EFFECT OF MEDIA VIOLENCE ON ADOLESCENTS’ BEHAVIOR IN NIGERIA

Background of Study

A total of one thousand five hundred questionnaires were administered to secondary schools

across Nigeria. The questionnaires were evenly distributed between schools located in rural and

urban areas in conveniently located states. The study was initially aimed at discovering the

relationship between real life and media violence between urban and rural schools in Nigeria.

However, an independent sample t-test performed on the collected data revealed that there was

no significant difference between the responses of adolescents from rural and urban schools. As

a result, it was agreed that data from urban and rural schools should not be analyzed separately.

Specific objectives

1. To determine if adolescents’ aggressive behavior has any relationship with the violence

they encounter in their environment

2. To determine if adolescents’ psychopathological inclination has any relationship with

the violence they encounter in their environment

3. To determine if adolescents’ perceived social desirability of self has any relationship

with the violence they encounter in their environment.

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Hypotheses

Ho1: There is no significant relationship between adolescents’ aggressive behavior and the

violence they encounter in their environment

Ha1: There is a significant relationship between adolescents’ aggressive behavior and the

violence they encounter in their environment

Ho2: There is no significant relationship between adolescents’ psychopathological inclination

and the violence they encounter in their environment

Ha2: There is a significant relationship between adolescents’ psychopathological inclination

and the violence they encounter in their environment

Ho3: There is no significant relationship between how adolescents perceive how desirable

they are to their peers and the violence they encounter in their environment

Ha3: There is a significant relationship between how adolescents perceive how desirable they

are to their peers and the violence they encounter in their environment

DATA PREPARATION & REDUCTION

The data was first analyzed manually in order to adjust missing values which were represented

with different values (99, 9, 0 and null). All missing values were then represented with null

values. After this, the data relevant to this study were then specifically prepared and reduced.

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Real Life Violence data

Questions nine through thirty-six from the questionnaire administered were taken to represent

the violence encountered by an adolescent in his/her environment. The questions were recoded

into binary sets (dichotomous): ‘Never (1)’ was recoded to ‘no such violence encountered (0)’;

whereas ‘Sometimes (2)’, ‘Often (3)’ and ‘Always (4)’ were recoded into ‘violence

encountered (1)’. As a result of all questions in this section having a negative tone, reverse

coding of any sub-variable was not necessary.

The recoded data were then analyzed by means of a principal component analysis with varimax

rotation. The various indicators of factorability were good, and the results indicate that the

solution was a good one (KMO= .845, Bartlett’s test significance (p) < .0005). Seven

components with eigenvalues greater than 1.0 were found; the scree plot also indicated seven

components. The sub-variables with the highest loadings in the corresponding components

were then chosen to be computed in order to arrive at the super real life violence variable.

These sub-variables are:

I have seen someone get attacked with a knife

Grownups threaten to beat me up

I have seen someone carry a gun

I have seen someone get beaten up

I have heard about someone getting shot

Someone my age threatened to beat me up

I have been badly hurt

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Psychopathology data

Questions sixty-eight through eighty-eight from the questionnaire administered were taken to

represent the psychopathological inclination of adolescents in the study. Due to the positive

tone of some questions (Q72, Q75, Q78, Q83, Q87 and Q88), reverse coding was necessary in

order to attain some form of correspondence with the remaining negatively-toned questions.

The questions (sub-variables) were recoded into binary sets (dichotomous): negative responses,

‘no (1)’, to the now all negatively-toned questions were recoded into ‘positive mental

inclination (0)’; whereas positive responses, ‘maybe (2)’ and ‘yes (3)’, were recoded into

‘negative mental inclination (1)’.

The recoded psychopathology data were then analyzed by means of a principal component

analysis with varimax rotation. The various indicators of factorability were good, and the

residuals indicate that the solution was a good one (KMO= .859, Bartlett’s test significance (p)

< .0005). Five components with eigenvalues greater than 1.0 were found; the scree plot also

indicated five components. The variables with the highest loadings in the corresponding

components were:

I am often unhappy, depressed or tearful

Other people my age generally don’t like me

I get along with people my own age than with adults

I don’t finish the work I’m doing

Other teens bully me

These variables were computed in order to arrive at the super psychopathology variable.

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Aggression data

Questions one hundred and one through one hundred and nine from the questionnaire

administered were taken to represent the aggression behavior of adolescents in the study. The

response scales for the questions were recoded into binary sets (dichotomous): ‘0 (1)’ was

recoded to ‘non-aggressive behavior (0)’; whereas ‘1 (2)’, ‘2 (3)’, ‘3 (4)’, ‘4 (5)’, ‘5 (6)’ and

‘6+ (7)’ were recoded into ‘aggressive behavior (1)’. As a result of all questions in this section

having a negative tone, reverse coding of any sub-variable was not necessary.

The aggression data were then analyzed by means of a principal component analysis with

varimax rotation. The various indicators of factorability were good, and the residuals indicate

that the solution was a good one (KMO= .863, Bartlett’s test significance (p) < .0005). Only

one component had an eigenvalue greater than 1.0. “I pushed or shoved other students” variable

had the highest loading in the component. This variable will be used to represent the super

aggression variable.

Social Desirability data

Questions eighty-nine through one hundred from the questionnaire administered were taken to

represent how adolescents in the study perceived themselves in terms of how desirable they are

to their peers. Each response set to each question in this section was analyzed in order to

identify which responses portrayed a participant’s negative or positive mindset. From the

analyses, it was noted that positive and negative responses were the equally distributed for each

question. All questions were recoded into binary sets (dichotomous): positive responses were

recoded into ‘perceived desirability (0)’, whereas negative responses were recoded into

‘perceived undesirability (1)’. Reverse coding in this section was not necessary.

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The recoded data containing adolescents’ perceived desirability from their peers were then

analyzed by means of a principal component analysis with varimax rotation. The various

indicators of factorability were good, and the residuals indicate that the solution was a good one

(KMO= .651, Bartlett’s test significance (p) < .0005). Five components with eigenvalues

greater than 1.0 were found; the scree plot also indicated five components. The variables with

the highest loadings in the corresponding components were:

Why didn’t the two students say hello to you?

In the situation which your friend chose someone else to go shopping rather than you,

what do you think is the underlying reason?

Why didn’t the students ask you to come along to the concert

Why hasn’t the student invited you to their house party?

Why did your friend choose to include someone you do not like in your discussion?

These variables were computed in order to arrive at the super social desirability variable.

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DATA ANALYSIS

The correlations table shown below was derived from a Pearson’s parametric test of correlation

conducted between adolescent’s aggressive behavior, psychopathological inclination, social

desirability and the violence they encounter in their environment.

RESULT INTERPRETATION

There was a significant positive correlation between the violence an adolescent experiences in

the environment and the aggression he/she portrays (r= .120, N= 1500, p< .0005, one-tailed). It

is a weak correlation: 1.44% of the variance is explained. Null hypothesis is rejected.

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There was a significant positive correlation between an adolescent's psychopathological

inclination and the violence he/she encountered in the environment (r= .056, N= 1500, p= .015,

one-tailed). However, only .31% of the variance is explained. Null hypothesis is rejected.

There was a significant positive correlation between the violence an adolescent encounters in

the environment and his/her perceived desirability among his/her peers (r= .049, N= 1288,

p= .040, one-tailed). However, only .24% of the variance is explained. Null hypothesis is

rejected.

REPORTING OF RESULT

Adolescents who have encountered violence in their environment have been found to often

portray aggressive behaviors towards their peers.

An adolescent’s poor mental and behavioral health may be linked to level of violence he/she

encounters in his/her environment.

Adolescents who encounter violence in their environment often perceive themselves to be less

desirable among their peers

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Objectives

1. To determine if the violence present in the video and computer games which

adolescents are engaged in has any relationship with their psychopathological inclination.

2. To determine if the violence present in the television shows which adolescents watch

has any relationship with their psychopathological inclination.

3. To determine if the violence present in the movies which adolescents watch has any

relationship with their psychopathological inclination.

4. To determine if the violence present in the song/music videos which adolescents watch

has any relationship with their psychopathological inclination.

Hypotheses

Ho1: There is no significant relationship between the violence present in the video and

computer games which adolescents are engaged in and their psychopathological inclination.

Ha1: There is a significant relationship between the violence present in the video and

computer games which adolescents are engaged in and their psychopathological inclination.

Ho2: There is no significant relationship between the violence present in the television shows

which adolescents watch and their psychopathological inclination.

Ha2: There is a significant relationship between the violence present in the television shows

which adolescents watch and their psychopathological inclination.

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Ho3: There is no significant relationship between the violence present in the movies which

adolescents watch and their psychopathological inclination.

Ha3: There is a significant relationship between the violence present in the movies which

adolescents watch and their psychopathological inclination.

Ho4: There is no significant relationship between the song/music videos which adolescents

watch and their psychopathological inclination.

Ha4: There is a significant relationship between the song/music videos which adolescents

watch and their psychopathological inclination.

DATA PREPARATION

Psychopathological data

The psychopathological data prepared in the previous section was used for this section of the

study

Video and Computer Games data

Questions forty-five, forty-seven and forty-nine were chosen to represent video and computer

games, which were recoded into dichotomous variables and computed to form a single video

game variable. These sub-variables were chosen because they gave comprehensive descriptions

of the type of video or computer games the respondents are engaged in.

The responses were recoded as follows:

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‘figuring out, learning (1)’, ‘sports, no fighting (2)’, and ‘story or game, no fighting or

destruction (4)’ were recoded into ‘non-violent video or computer game (0)’.

‘reach goals, kill or be killed, real people (3)’, ‘reach goals, kill or be killed, cartoon characters

(5), and ‘sports with fighting (6)’ were recoded to ‘violent video or computer game (1)’.

‘I have no favorite video or computer game (7)’ was however considered as ‘system missing’.

Television Show data

For the television media data, questions fifty-one, fifty-three and fifty-five were chosen to

represent television show data, which were recoded into dichotomous variables and computed

to form a single television show variable. These sub-variables were chosen because they gave

comprehensive descriptions of the type of television programs the respondents watched.

The responses were recoded as follows:

‘figuring out, learning, educational (1)’, ‘cartoon characters (2)’, ‘sports, no contact between

players (3)’, ‘game show (5)’, ‘talk show (6)’, ‘story about real people, no fighting or

destruction (8)’ were recoded into ‘non-violent TV (0)’.

‘sports with contact between players (4)’ and ‘story about real people with fighting or

destruction (7)’ were recoded to ‘violent TV (1)’.

‘I have no favorite television show (9)’ was however considered as ‘system missing’.

Movies data

Questions fifty-seven, fifty-nine and sixty-one were chosen to represent movies data, which

were recoded into dichotomous variables and computed to form a single variable. These sub-

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variables were chosen because they gave comprehensive descriptions of the type of movies the

respondents watched.

The responses were recoded as follows:

‘figuring out, learning (1)’, ‘sports, no contact between players (2)’, and ‘real people, no

fighting or destruction (5), and ‘cartoon characters (6)’ were recoded into ‘non-violent movies

(0)’.

‘real people, fighting, destruction (4)’ and ‘sports with contact between players (3)’ were

recoded to ‘violent movies (1)’.

‘I have no favorite movie (7)’ was however considered as ‘system missing’.

Song/Music Video data

Questions fifty-seven, fifty-nine and sixty-one were chosen to represent song/music video data,

which were recoded into dichotomous variables and computed to form a single variable. These

sub-variables were chosen because they gave comprehensive descriptions of the type of

song/music videos the respondents watched.

The responses were recoded as follows:

‘has a good beat (1)’, ‘easy to dance to (2)’ and ‘reminds me of myself/ my life (3) were

recoded into ‘neutral music videos (0)’.

‘has sexy words or scene (4)’ and ‘has fighting words or scenes (5)’ were recoded to ‘violent

music videos (1)’.

‘I have no favorite song or music video (6)’ was however considered as ‘system missing’.

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Music data

Question sixty-seven was chosen to represent music data, which was recoded into dichotomous

variables and computed to form a single variable. The selection of this sub-variable was due to

the fact that it gave a comprehensive description of the type of music the respondents listened

to. The responses (descriptions) were recoded as follows:

‘jazz (3)’, ‘folk (6)’, ‘country (7)’, ‘classical (8)’, ‘light/easy listening (9)’ and ‘oldies (10)’

were recoded into ‘non-violent music (0)’.

‘pop (1)’, ‘rock (2)’, ‘rap (4)’ and ‘heavy metal (5)’ were recoded into ‘violent music (1)’.

DATA ANALYSIS

The correlations table shown below was derived from a Pearson’s parametric test of correlation

conducted between adolescents’ psychopathological inclination and the types of media which

they are engaged it (television, movies, song/music video and computer & video games).

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RESULTS INTERPRETATION

There was no significant correlation between the type of video/computer games (violent/ non-

violent) played by an adolescent and his/her psychopathological inclination (r= -.032, N= 793,

p> .05, one-tailed). Null hypothesis is not rejected.

There was no significant correlation between the type of television show (violent/ non-violent)

an adolescent watches and his/her psychopathological inclination (r= .024, N= 1020, p> .05,

one-tailed). Null hypothesis is not rejected.

There was no significant correlation between the type of movie (violent/ non-violent) an

adolescent watches and his/her psychopathological inclination (r= .028, N= 903, p> .05, one-

tailed). Null hypothesis is not rejected.

There was no significant correlation between the type of song/music video (violent/ non-

violent) an adolescent watches and his/her psychopathological inclination (r= .018, N= 979,

p> .05, one-tailed). Null hypothesis not rejected.

There was no significant correlation between the type of music (violent/ non-violent) an

adolescent watches and his/her psychopathological inclination (r= -.032, N= 940, p> .05, one-

tailed). Null hypothesis is not rejected.

REPORTING OF RESULT

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An adolescent’s mental and behavioral health is not associated with the violence present in the

different types of media engaged in by the adolescent.

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Adolescent Reported Weekly Media Use (Watching Movies)

SPSS Chart builder was used to develop the diagram below. It shows percentages of students in

each class (JSS1 – SSS3) based on the average number of time the students spend watching

movies per week.

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INTERPRETING AND REPORTING

From the chart above, it can be noted that:

1. On average, very few adolescents in SS3 class watch movies for 15 or more hours per

week: This may be as a result of adolescents focusing on their upcoming WAEC and A-

Level examinations, thereby reducing the amount of time they spend watching movies.

2. The percentage of adolescents who watch movies for more than 15 hour per week is

greatest in JSS1 and SS1 classes. This may be as a result of their relaxed attitude when

the students get to cross the Common Entrance and JSSCE examination/border.

3. About the same percentage of adolescent in all classes watch movies between 1-2 hours

per week. The explanation for this may be the “normal distribution” present in social

graphs.

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