Resilience and Emotional Intelligence as Correlates of Oppositional Defiant Behaviour Disorder among In-School Adolescents in Lagos, Nigeria

This study examined resilience and emotional intelligence as correlates of oppositional defiant behaviour disorder among in-school adolescents in Lagos State. The study employed a cross-sectional research design and a total of 707 participants, males (341) and females (366) from two out of the six educational districts, were randomly selected. Five hypotheses were stated and tested using Pearson r, multiple regression and independent t-test. The result showed that there was a strong negative relationship between resilience and ODD (r= -0.82; df(705); p< 0.05). Emotional intelligence also has a negative relationship with ODD (r= -0.55; df (705); p< 0.05). Resilience and emotional intelligence accounted for a joint influence of 0.7% of the variance in ODD (R2=0.007; P<.05). Furthermore, no significant influence of sex on ODD was observed, and Private in-school adolescents reported significantly higher ODD than the public in-school adolescents. The study’s results provide valuable insights into addressing oppositional defiant behaviour disorders in adolescents and recommend that schools, particularly private ones, should integrate resilience-building and emotional intelligence programs into curricula and teacher training, while communities, parents, media, and governments should promote and fund these initiatives to foster supportive environments and raise awareness.