TABLE OF
CONTENT
CERTIFICATION
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1
1.1
BACKGROUND OF THE
STUDY
1.2
STATEMENT OF THE
PROBLEM
1.3
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.4
OBJECTIVE OF THE
STUDY
1.5
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
STUDY
1.6
STATEMENT OF
HYPOTHESIS
1.7
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
1.8
DEFINITION OF TREMS
ABSTRACT
The
research provides a theoretical appraisal of the effect of
socio economic status and sex on attitude towards crime. It elucidates levels
of socioeconomic status and its effect
towards crime. it is intended that the study shall serve as repository
knowledge for attitudinal reformation framework towards crime.
INTRODUCTION
Social
class, or socioeconomic status (SES), refers to an individual's rank vis-à-vis
others in society in terms of wealth, occupational prestige, and education .
Abundant resources and elevated rank allow upper-class individuals increased
freedom and independence , giving rise to self-focused patterns of social
cognition and behavior . Relative to lower-class individuals, upper-class
individuals have been shown to be less cognizant of others and worse at identifying the emotions that
others feel .Socio-economic status refer to the social and economic position
occupied by parents in the society, Ivor (1978) defined it as a level made up
of individuals who deem themselves equal due to similarities in family
background, level of education, occupation, race and attitude towards social
issues. Adebayo (1981) observed that the social status of individuals is a
reflection of their economic status and he went further to explain that
socio-economic status is usually a measure of the income and occupation of the
individual, irrespective of his or her educational or social standing. According
to him this has a tremendous influence on students’ behaviour.
CHAPTER
1
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Ezewu (1987) posited that
socio-economic status can affect the academic performance of students in terms
of early attendance at school, attendance of best schools and the provision of necessary
materials. The students from low socio-economic status would find it difficult
to obtain his needs from his parents. So he or she may be lured into cultism in
order to meet his needs. Giddens (1996) in a longitudinal study of the influence
of socio-economic status of parents on children’s behaviour found out that
children with behavioural problems come from families with lowsocio-economic
background. Also Chauhan (2002) posited that, there is a positive correlation
between poverty and crime involving very high earnings and very low risks.
He observed that the highest percentage of criminals come from
low socio-economic background. Furthermore, he observed that all persons who
come from under-privilege class are criminals. The crucial factor in poor homes
is that parents cannot fulfill the legitimate needs of their children. This
financial incapability makes students vulnerable to the deceit of cultism, who deceives
them that they will empower them and meet their needs only to end up being a
cultist. On his part, Ekpo (2000) view socio-economic status as a complex
phenomenon which exerts pervasive influence on all aspect of one’s life. He noted
that socio-economic status is a liability that renders students vulnerable to
the mischievous antics of cultists in order to make ends meet.
Ukpong (1999) observed that socio-economic status has some
sociological implication on the society. She explained that crime rates like
cultism, gangsters, rape, street life such as hawking, prostitution and drug
addiction are seriously on the increase because of poverty.
1.1
DEFINITION
OF THE PROBLEM
The problem confronting this research is
to investigate the effect of socio
economic status and sex on attitude towards crime.
1.2
RESEARCH
QUESTION
1
What is socio
economic status
2
What is the effect of
socioeconomic status and sex on attitude towards
crime.
1.3
OBJECTIVE
OF THE STUDY
To
appraise the nature and effect of socioeconomic status and sex on attitude
towards crime
1.4
SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
The
study shall provide a source of information on issues of socioeconomic status
and sex on attitude towards crime.
1.5
STATEMENT
OF HYPOTHESIS
1 H0 The
level of crime in the society is low
H1 The
level of crime in the society is high
2 H0 Effect
of socioeconomic status on attitude towards crime is low
H1 Effect of socioeconomic status on attitude
towards crime is high
3 H0 Effect of sex on attitude towards crime is low
H1 Effect
of sex on attitude towards crime is high
1.6
SCOPE
OF THE STUDY
The
study focuses on the appraisal of the effect of socioeconomic status and sex on
attitude towards crime
1.7
DEFINITION
OF TERMS
SOCIO ECONOMIC
STATUS
Social class, or socioeconomic status
(SES), refers to an individual's rank vis-à-vis others in society in terms of
wealth, occupational prestige, and education. Abundant resources and elevated
rank allow upper-class individuals increased freedom and independence, giving
rise to self-focused patterns of social cognition and behavior. Relative to
lower-class individuals, upper-class individuals have been shown to be less
cognizant of others and worse at
identifying the emotions that others feel .Socio-economic status
refer to the social and economic position occupied by parents in the society,
Ivor (1978) defined it as a level made up of individuals who deem themselves
equal due to similarities in family background, level of education, occupation,
race and attitude towards social issues. Adebayo (1981) observed that the
social status of individuals is a reflection of their economic status and he
went further to explain that socio-economic status is usually a measure of the
income and occupation of the individual, irrespective of his or her educational
or social standing.
SECRET
SOCIETY
The
1979 Federal Constitution, Section 35(4) defined a secret society as “…a
society or association, not being a solely cultural or religious body, that
uses secret signs, oaths, rites or symbols.
(a)
Whose meeting or activities are held in secret;
(b)
Whose members are under oath, obligation or other threat to promote the
interest of its members or to aid one another under circumstances without
regard to merit, fair-play or justice”.
The
above are the features of cultism on Nigeria University
Campuses.