Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in Nigeria: Empirical Analysis of Personality traits, Emotional intelligence and Gender as Determinants.

This study investigated the Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in Nigeria: Empirical Analysis of Personality traits, Emotional intelligence and Gender as Determinants. The current study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design and a random sampling technique to select eighty-five (85) consisting 43 (50.58%) female and 42 (49.41%) male married adolescents. Their age ranges from 21-41 years, as well as an estimated 56.4% from polygamous family, and 44.6% from monogamous family. On their educational qualification, 7(8.4%) of the respondents had SSCE, 46 (55.4%) had ND/NCE, 25(29.4%) had BSC, while 7(8.2%) had postgraduate qualification. Participants completed the intimate partner violence, emotional intelligence, and personality traits scales as study’s means of data collection. Three hypotheses are tested at 0.05 level of significance, and results following multiple regression analysis showed that personality traits jointly (R2 = .483; F (5, 58) = 10.824; p< .000) predicted intimate partner violence. On the independent basis, agreeableness (β = -.356, t = -2.864; p< .006), neuroticism (β = .245, t = 2.393; p< .020), openness to experience (β = -.010, t = - 3.012; p<.008) and extraversion (β = -.524, t = -5.604; p< .001) independently predicted intimate partner (IPV) violence. While, conscientiousness (β = -.162, t = 1.271; p > .209) did not significantly predict IPV. In addition, emotional intelligence did not significantly predict (β = -.289, t = -2.374; p > .021) IPV. Lastly, result revealed a significant gender difference [t (65) = 1.260; p < .212] in intimate partner (IPV) among Married Adolescents in Lagos, Nigeria. The study recommended that developing and expanding counseling programs for individuals with personality traits associated with IPV to help them manage their emotional intelligence, and gender characteristics more constructively.