Aggression among youths - causes and effects

all doing well. It is my pleasure to join the rest in writing this article for your reading delight.

Aggression refers to feelings of anger and hatred that may result in threatening or violent behaviour. It is very common among youths in the area that i reside. Admittedly, there are many factors that can lead to aggression and its resulting effects among youths.

To start with, parental upbringing is one of the major causes of aggression in young ones. It is a popular knowledge that the family is a microcosm or a subset of a larger society. In other words, the way we train our children to a greater extent determines what they turn out to be in the society in which they fine themselves.

For instance, a father who violently beats up his wife in front of the children is not leading by example. Since children tend to learn so much from their parents, this kind of behaviour may adversely affect the children. The effects are always enormous and heartrending. They may grow up with violent disposition, getting angry at the slightest provocation.

They may even become nuisance in the community in which they live. If care is not taken, there is a higher possibility to be labelled persona non grata, that is a person who for a certain reason is not wanted or welcome in a particular place.

What is more, such young ones are seen beating up their parents when there are angry because they feel being violent is a normal way of life. If they end up marrying, their home may become a haven of violence. Therefore, to counteract this possibility, parents should be exemplary. On no account should the husband turn his wife to a punching back and vice versa. The young children are watching, as such, the effect of this may be imprinted in their memories for years to come.

Another cause of aggressive behaviour among the youths in my area is cult activities. Many young ones get initiated into cultism. Unfortunately, primary school pupils are not left out. They are often seen involving in one riot or the other. We can begin to imagine what will happen by the time they get to the secondary school and later to the university. Your guess is as good as mine - they would have had many titles in the groups they belong to.

For instance in my state, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria, young ones take to the street fomenting troubles, fighting one another in the name of cultism. During this time, they maim and violently kill members of a different cult group. No wonder, on one occasion a secondary school in the state named Ewet Technical College, situated along Nwaniba road, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State was closed down because of perennial cult activities.

Interestingly, some Local Government Areas in the state have been terrorised by these cult groups, an act perpetrated by the youths in particular. Houses and schools have been burnt down, lives have gone, and many displaced from their homes.

To curb these incessant cult activities from our young ones, security personnel should be deployed to comb for these masterminds and bring them to book. Again the government should enact laws which prescribe death sentence for anyone caught in this act. This no doubt can serve as a deterrent to any youth who may be nursing the ambition of being a cultist.

Furthermore, our youths are aggressive because of the use of excessive intoxication liquor and drug abuse. The truth is that anyone who is influenced by alcohol and drugs tends to act irrationally. Nonetheless, many of our youths drink alcohol to stupor.

They are also seen experimenting with hard substances such as marijuana, cocaine etc. As a result, they dabble in violence. Some become mentally deranged because their brain is not able to withstand the effects of these substances taken. Thus they are seen wandering the streets, causing mayhem to passersby.

To forestall these deliquencies, the government should make stringent laws against drug abuse and try to enforce these laws. Additionally, any youth caught disturbing public peace in the name of drunkeness should be arrested by the authority and detained for some days so that if he/ she eventually comes out from detention, they will learn their lesson.

Moreover, the youths become aggressive in my area because of government's insensitivity towards their plight. Many at times, the government refuses to provide basic amenities or infrastructure such as pipe borne water, electricity, good road network, quality education and employment for its teeming youths.

The effect is that these youths in an effort to vent their frustration and express their anger begin to protest, which often results in violent behaviour. To nib this in the bud, the government as a matter of urgency should provide these basic amenities, especially employment for young ones because an idle hand is a devil's workshop.

Finally, bullying is a cause of aggression by many youths in my area. Many young ones get bullied at school and where they live. This may be as a result of their backgrounds, the language they speak, their skin colour, and the like. Young ones who pass through this may want to retaliate which always ends in violence.

Therefore, to solve this menace, i suggest that the school authorities should have rules that guard against bullying. Again, anyone who is found wanting in this respect should be dismissed from school as a penalty.