MENTAL HEALTH AND AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOUR AMONG POLICE OFFICERS IN SOUTH-WEST NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR NATIONAL SECURITY

Abstract

 This paper investigated mental health and aggressive behaviour of police officers in South-West Nigeria and the implications for national security by adopting the cross-sectional survey research design. A sample of 184 police officers was selected through the cluster sampling technique. Valid and reliable instruments used for data collection were Demographic Data Inventory (DDI), Mental Health Inventory – 5 (MHI-5) and Aggression Questionnaire (AQ). Two hypotheses were formulated and analyzed using the simple linear regression analysis and independent t-test at the .05 significance level. Results revealed a significant influence of mental health on aggressive behaviour among police officers in South-West Nigeria (Beta = -.283, t = 9.224, p < .05) and a significant difference in aggressive behaviour between male and female police officers (t = 12.026, df = 182, p < .0005), with male officers (mean = 102.7) being more aggressive than female officers (mean = 87.4). It was subsequently recommended, among others, that the Nigerian government should utilize psychological interventions to inhibit aggressive tendencies among at-risk police officers.   Key Words: Mental health, aggressive behaviour, national security, police officers.