1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background To The Study
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.
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.
1.2 Statement Of The Problem
The problem confronting this research is to investigate the effect of socio economic status and sex on attitude towards crime.
1.3 Aim and Objectives Of The Study
The aim of the study is to appraise the nature and effect of socioeconomic status and sex on attitude towards crime. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To determine the level of crime in the area under study; and
- To examine the effect of socioeconomic status and sex on attitude towards crime.
1.4 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- What is socio economic status?
- What is the effect of socioeconomic status and sex on attitude towards crime?
1.5 Statement Of Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
Hypothesis One
- H0: The level of crime in the society is low
- H1: The level of crime in the society is high
Hypothesis Two
- H0: Effect of socioeconomic status on attitude towards crime is low
- H1: Effect of socioeconomic status on attitude towards crime is high
Hypothesis Three
- H0: Effect of sex on attitude towards crime is low
- H1: Effect of sex on attitude towards crime is high
1.6 Significance Of The Study
The study shall provide a source of information on issues of socioeconomic status and sex on attitude towards crime.
1.7 Scope Of The Study
The scope of this research is focused on the appraisal of the effect of socioeconomic status and sex on attitude towards crime.
1.8 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint:
The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Financial Constraint:
Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
- Lack of Initial Cooperation from Respondents:
A particular limitation of this work came as a result of the respondent refusal to offer their cooperation at the initial time they were contacted. This contributed in making the success of this research study difficult.
1.9 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.
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