Psychosocial Problems of Rape among Secondary School Students as Perceived by Parents in Ilorin South of Kwara State

Abstract

This study examined the psychosocial problems of rape in Ilorin South of Kwara State. A descriptive survey design was employed in the study. The population consisted of parents in Ilorin South of Kwara State, with a sample of two hundred and twenty respondents being selected through a multistage sampling method. A researcher designed instrument tagged ‘Psychosocial Problems of Rape Questionnaire (PPRQ)’ was used to collect data. The instrument was well validated by experts in test and measurement.  Reliability was ascertained through a test retest method which yielded a reliability co-efficient of 0.77. One research question and four hypotheses guided the study. Data was analysed with mean and rank order, t-test and Analysis of variance. Hypotheses were tested at a 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that the psychosocial problems of rape include: an inferiority complex, a feeling of being unsafe, a low self-esteem, depression, emotional stress, social withdrawal, among other problems. Findings also showed that age, gender and religion did not influence the respondents or their responses on the problems of rape, while they differed in their responses based on their educational level. Based on the findings, it was recommended as follows: government should set up serious measures to tackle incidences of rape in schools and punish the rapists severely, and schools should, through counselling, educate the students on how to avoid being victims of rape. Schools should also be fenced all round.