Asian Journal of Humanities and Social Studies (ISSN: 2321 – 2799) Volume 02 – Issue 01, February 2014 Asian Online Journals (www.ajouronline.com) 179 Influence of Gender and Personality Characteristics on Violent Behaviour among Adolescents in Nigeria Mokolapo Oluwatosin Tenibiaje 1 , Dele Joseph Tenibiaje 2 1 Department of Psychology University of Ibadan Ekiti State. Nigeria 2 Department of Guidance and Counselling Faculty of Education Ekiti State University Ado – Ekiti. Nigeria _________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT---- This study investigated the influence of gender and personality characteristics on violent behaviour among adolescents in Nigeria. The purpose of the study is to find out how gender and personality characteristics influence violent behaviour among adolescents in Nigeria. A total number of three hundred (300) participants were used for the study. A questionnaire was designed by the researchers to measure the influence of gender and personality characteristics on violent behaviour among adolescents. The questionnaire contained the following items: age, sex, marital status, Big-five personality inventory (48-items) and violent inventory (56-items). Two hypotheses were tested using independent t-test and multiple regression analysis. In analysing the first hypothesis, it showed that gender had no significant influence on violent behaviour among university students. Based on the results obtained, these conclusions were made, gender has no significant influence on violent behaviour and personality traits (agreeableness, neuroticism, openness to experience, extraversion and conscientiousness) had a significant influence on violent behaviour among adolescents. These recommendations were made that violence on the media should be discouraged and media education should be encouraged and make it widely available to educate adolescents on effects of violence. Students with violent behaviour should be well handled and must be referred to an appropriate counselling section with the help of a school counsellor or a psychologist and with the involvement of the school management. Keywords--- Personality characteristics, violence behaviour, gender and adolescents ______________________________________________________________________________________________ 1. INTRODUCTION The American Federal Bureau of Investigation (2001) defined violence as the expression of physical or verbal force against self or others, compelling actions against one’s will on pain of being hurt. This definition associate s intentionality with the committing of the act itself, irrespective of the outcome it produces. Violence according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) is the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or carried out, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development or deprivation. Violence can also be defined as an intentional behaviour aimed at causing either physical or psychological pain (Berkowitz, 1983). According to Berkowitz, violence is in two categories, which include the hostile and the instrumental. Elliot, Robin & Beveley (2004) posited that violence is a consequence of pain, discomfort, frustration, provocation, reciprocation, social exclusion, aggressive objects and imitation. Since independence, various types of violence have beset Nigeria. Issues that ordinarily should have been resolved through administrative, dialogue, legislative or legal process end up in violence. There is a high level of intolerance among different ethnic groups or religious groups and students in Nigeria. Demands and demonstrations by students against school authorities or protests by student union government executives, mobilising the students, have in many cases ended in fiasco. Youth violence on campuses of tertiary institutions has increasingly become an embarrassing and a worrisome scenario for University administrators, parents, guidance counsellors, missionaries (clergies), governments and members of the civil society. Violence has become a problem to the entire society, based on the psychological or emotional stress that is being experienced by the populace when the act is being carried-out.