Abstract: The study investigated the influence of sex on inclination to crime commission among secondary students in Ekiti State. The researcher employed the descriptive research design of the survey type. The populations for the study are all the public secondary school students in Ekiti State. The questionnaire titled Inclination To Crime (ITC) among secondary school students was administered on the respondents. Face and content validities of the instrument were ensured by experts in the field of psychology. A validity coefficient of 0.72 was obtained. The test retest reliability of the instrument was ensured by administering the instrument on subjects that are not part of the original sample. The reliability coefficient of 0.86 was obtained and found significnt at 0.05 level of significance using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis. Copies of the 30 items instruments were personally administered on the respondents. The data collected were analyzed using inferential statistics of t-test.

INTRODUCTION

Since ancient times, the legal system has drawn distinctions between juvenile delinquency and actual involvement in crimes and tendency or inclination towards crimes commission. In the traditional Nigerian society, certain crimes are committed or reserved exclusively for the male sexes but it seems as observed by the researcher and publications from the sophisticated national dailies that inclination to crime or actual crime dominance is no respecter of sex, males and females especially in Ekiti state.

Murkhajee (1978) observed that the psychology of tendencies to commit crime among youths especially secondary school students is of recent origin and researches are going on to determine the incidence nature, severity, causation and therapy.

It was reported in the following national dailies of Nigeria especially the Comet Newspaper of 19th September 2003, Punch newspaper of 1st August 2003. Majority of the crime committed by adolescent and secondary school students are reported in N.T.A and they are boys and girls committing the crimes.

These tendentious or maladaptive behaviors that can lead to adult crimes seems to be manifested in form of falsification of records in respect of age, name, school fees, result, abuse of drug, truancy, premarital sex, sexual promiscuity, rape, abortions, wearing of provocative dresses, smoking, cultism, examination malpractices, lying, stealing, false pretence, rioting, arson, bullying on other students and teachers, insubordination and host of other mischievous acts.

Those offence termed juvenile delinquencies are so great that one cannot actually distinguish between them and adult crime, this is because those secondary school girls and boys aids and abet crime to the extent that one cannot say they delinquents. Various attempts have been made by successive Nigerian government to reduce the tide of propensity for crime. A one time democratically elected president of Nigeria prophesying the situation that the nation is experiencing with the youth in a speech at the Nigeria Institute for Policy and Strategies Studies (NIPSS) in JOS declared that crimes, corruption, fraud and smuggling are not only being institutionalized but are fast becoming a business pursuit and a way of life.

He observed that those who rose through criminal records to the position of affluence are embraced by the Nigeria society while merit, honesty, integrity are hardly recognized, hard work and excellence are not given any credence. The orientation and educational pursuit of the secondary school students cannot be separated from this since they constitute an integral proportion of the Nigerian population. Although, gender differences in cognitive abilities and personality appear to be minimal researcher have found some interesting disparities in social behavior. In a research conducted by Eagly (1987) and Hyde (1984) on aggression that is behavior that is intended to hurt someone either physically or verbally they reported that males are more aggressive than females, although the size of this differences is moderate. Barfield (1976) and Hyde (1984) reported that girls tend to engage in more verbal and disobedient aggressiveness acts whereas boys engage in more physical and destructive aggression.

They also reported that women report more guilt and anxiety after they have engaged in aggressive behavior and more awareness of the potential harmfulness of their aggression.

These patterns of thinking probably help inhibit women’s expression of aggression. Kendrick (1987) observed that the disparity between the sexes in aggressive behavior shows up early in childhood and it continues through adulthood and it is supported by the fact that men account for a grossly disproportionate share of violent crime.

In a research conducted by Cooper (1979) and Eagly (1978), they described that females do not conform to peer standards more than males they are subjected to group pressures to do so. This contradicts the traditional beliefs held that females are more conforming than males who viewed as more independent minded.

However, when group pressure is applied females are more likely to conform than males frequently because of their lower status within the group or because of their efforts to preserve social harmony (Eagly, 1983; Eagly and Carh, 1981; Eagly and Wood, 1982, 1985).

In an attempt to reduce the tide of crime pervading Ekiti state, the democratically elected governor of Ekiti state on assumption of office passed a bill to the Ekiti state house of assembly that all the public secondary school students in the SS1 should the reside in the school which he believed will enhance the status of discipline both at home and school and that it would reduce academic failures experienced for some years in the secondary schools.

He also complemented it with the allocation of a computer set to SS1 students which he believed will get them engaged rather than their involvement in criminal acts and that it will enhance their status of performances.

Page et al. (1979) considered inclination to crime among boys and girls in the secondary schools as emotional disturbances or instability or psychological disturbance that requires urgent educational or Therapeutic treatment in order to effect person’s social or educational adjustment. Alhassan (1989) submitted that propensity for crime is exhibited by certain factors and that the behavioral manifestations are: attack on and beating of others, destroying other peoples property without any reasonable or justifiable cause. He further added that the some environmental conditions for example when school work appear cumbersome where there is more poor method of teaching where there are unhealthy pupil-teacher relationship, poor metal ability and high ambition may also trigger the tendencies. The present study was therefore, to investigate if there is any difference in the propensity or inclination to crime between male and female students in Ekiti state secondary schools. The following research hypothesis is tested. There is no significant difference between male and female student in their propensities for crime commission.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The descriptive research design of the survey type was used. Observation and perception of existing situation was described and interpreted because of the population an unbiased survey was done.

Population sample and sampling techinques: The population for the study are all the students in all the public secondary schools in Ekiti State. The sample for the study consisted of 578 secondary school students selected through simple and investigating sampling techniques.

Research instrument: A 30 item questionnaire was used. The items were of six section seeing information on the subject matter. The validity coefficient of the instrument was 0.76 and the reliability coefficient of 0.82 was obtained and found significant at 0.05 level of significance.

Administration of the instrument: The questionnaire was personally administered by the research and trained research assistants.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1 comparing male and female students inclination to crime. As Table 1 showed that 578 respondents, 270 males and 308 females respondents with 9 mean (x) of 10.69 and 10.80, respectively. The t calculated 0.72 was less than the t-table 1.96. The null hypothesis is accepted or upheld. It shows that the result was significant at 0.05 level of significance. It shows that statistically male and females are equally pre-disposed to crime commission.

Table 1:	Comparing between male and female students inclination to crime
p<0.05; t-cal<t-table hypotheses is accepted

CONCLUSION

The result of the analysis showed that there is no significant difference between male and female students inclination to crime.