CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1.    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Anger is one of our most necessary and powerful emotions. It can be a vital tool for survival and can cause significant difficulties in remained for long run persistently knocking mind associated with thinking, feeling, behavior, and relationship [Videbeck SL 2012]. It is an emotion that involves a strong uncomfortable and awkward response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat [Videbeck SL 2012]. When personal boundaries get demolished than anger get aroused and some even show coping anger can occur when a person feels their personal boundaries are being or going to be violated. Some have a learned tendency to react to anger through retaliation as a way of and some even show coping behavior. Plethora of literature has been published by Raymond Novaco of UC Irvine, since 1975 on the subject, layering anger into three modalities: Cognitive (appraisal), somatic-affective (tension and agitations), and behavioral (withdrawal and antagonism) [Novaco RW 2013]. William DeFoore, an anger-management writer, described anger as an example of pressure that can only be applied up to limit with time boundary if exceeded it will burst and destroy everything [DeFoore W. 2010]. A person experiencing anger will also activates emotional literacy to any harmful disturbances that impacts on the different body system resulting into alteration in physiological conditions, such as increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and increased level of adrenaline and noradrenalin due to sympathetic discharge that is matched physiologically to cover up body systemic balance to fear, hurt or sadness. Some view anger as an emotion which triggers part of the fight or flight response [Harris W, Schoenfeld 2009]. Anger is naturally a warning to guide our self from fear, hurt or sadness physiologically or cognitively or behaviorally on the external threatening exposure by action opted on choice such as facial expressions, biological response and later public acts of aggression or body language [DiGiuseppe R 2012]. Animals, for example, make loud growling sounds, physically become larger, bare and crush their teeth, and stare [Morris D 2011]. All these changes are made as a warning to stop aggressor to their threatening behavior. Physical altercation is rare without the prior expression of anger while most of those lose self-monitoring capacity and observability [Novaco RW. 2010]. Modern psychologists believes that anger has a functional value for survival and is a primary, natural, and mature emotion felt by virtually all humans at any moment can negatively affect personal or social wellbeing [Fiero JW 2011] and impact negatively both on the body and in the mind if it remained insidiously [Kemp S, Strongman KT. 2011]. Uncontrolled anger leads to domestic violence which is the intentional and persistent abuse of anyone in the home in a way that causes pain, distress or injury. It refers to any abusive treatment of one family member by another, thus violating the law of basic human rights. Battering of intimate partners and others, sexual abuse of children, marital rape and traditional practices that are harmful to women are also forms domestic violence. Female genital mutilation is a form of domestic violence. According to Dahlberg and Krug, 2010, UNICEF, 2011 domestic violence occurs globally. Families from all educational, religious, social and racial economic backgrounds experience domestic violence in various ways. Djaden and Thoennes (2010), report that in the United States of America, each year, women experience about 4.8 million intimate partner-related physical assaults and rapes while men are victims of about 2.9 million domestic violence physical assaults. Domestic violence is prevalent and reportedly justified and condoned in some cultures especially in parts of the third world generally and in West Africa, in particular. For example, wife-beating on grounds like –bad cook, producing more girls, leaving home without informing, disrespectful to in-laws, among others are justified among 56% of Indian women as surveyed by an agency (Basu and Pratishthan 2010) Reports from IRIN (2014) show that 25% of women in Dakar and Kaolack in Senegal are subjected to physical violence from their partners and that very few accepted that they are beaten – while 60% of domestic violence victims turn to a family member, in majority of the cases, they are told to endure and keep quiet the beatings. From the report it was also revealed that a law passed in the Senegalese penal code punishing domestic violence with prison sentences and fines is poorly enforced due to cultural and religious resistance. In Ghana, spousal assaults top the list of domestic violence (I-RIN, 2014) In Nigeria, reports reveal “shockingly high” level of violence against women (Afrol News, 2014). According to Amnesty international (2014) a third (and in some cases two-thirds) of women are believed to have been subjected to sexual, physical and psychological violence executed primarily by partners, husbands and fathers while girls are mostly forced into early marriage and are at risk of maltreatment if they try to escape from their husbands. The height of gross of non documentation and under reporting of domestic violence due to cultural factors is more pathetic  (Oyediran and Isugo, 2011, afrolnews, 2014). It is against this backdrop that the study examines the effect of uncontrolled anger on domestic violence in Obio-akpor L.G.A.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Anger has received considerable research attention in recent years. However, most anger research has adopted a within-person view (Hareli & Rafaeli, 2008), focusing on the effect of experienced anger on the angry person’s thinking and decision-making processes, satisfaction and performance. Far less research has examined the effects of an angry agent on other people.  By “other people”, we refer to anyone who is not the angry agent him or herself yet somehow encounters the angry agent. Others include the target of the agent’s anger. Others also include the partners of the angry agent or target (“partner” ) or uninvolved organizational members who observe the agent’s anger or learn about it third-hand (“third party”). A little has been done on uncontrolled anger and domestic violence. Therefore this study examines the effect of uncontrolled anger on domestic violence in Obio-akpor L.G.A.

1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The major aim of the study is to examine the effect of uncontrolled anger on domestic violence in Obio-akpor L.G.A. Other specific objectives of the study include;

1.  To examine the causes of uncontrolled anger and domestic violence in Nigeria.

2.  To examine forms and cases of domestic violence in Nigeria.

3.  To examine the effect of uncontrolled anger on domestic violence in Obio-Akpor L.G.A

4.  To examine the consequences of domestic violence.

5.  To examine the relationship between uncontrolled anger and domestic violence in Obio-Akpor L.G.A.

6.  To examine ways of anger and domestic violence management.

 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1.  What are the causes of uncontrolled anger and domestic violence in Nigeria?

2.  What are forms and cases of domestic violence in Nigeria?

3.  What is the effect of uncontrolled anger on domestic violence in Obio-Akpor L.G.A?

4.  What are the consequences of domestic violence?

5.  What is the relationship between uncontrolled anger and domestic violence in Obio-Akpor L.G.A?

6.  What are the ways of anger and domestic violence management?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

Hypothesis 1

H0: There is no significant effect of uncontrolled anger on domestic violence in Obio-Akpor L.G.A.

H1: There is a significant effect of uncontrolled anger on domestic violence in Obio-Akpor L.G.A.

Hypothesis 2

H0: There is no significant relationship between uncontrolled anger and domestic violence in Obio-Akpor L.G.A.

H1: There is a significant relationship between uncontrolled anger and domestic violence in Obio-Akpor L.G.A.

1.6      SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study would be of benefit to researchers, academicians, policy makers and the country in general. The study would also be of immense benefit to students, researchers and scholars who are interested in developing further studies on the subject matter.

1.7      SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The study is restricted to the effect of uncontrolled anger on domestic violence in Obio-akpor L.G.A.

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Financial constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview)

Time constraint: The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.8      DEFINITION OF TERMS

Anger: The emotion anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state. It involves a strong uncomfortable and hostile response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat.

Domestic violence: is also known as domestic abuse, spousal above, battering, family violence and intimate partner violence (IPV). It is a pattern of abusive behaviours by one partner against another in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family or cohabitation. Domestic violence, so defined, has many forms, including physical aggression or assault (hitting, kicking, biting, shoving, restraining, slapping, throwing objects), or threats thereof; sexual abuse; emotional abuse; controlling or domineering; intimidation; stalking; passive/covert abuse otherwise known as neglect; and economic deprivation (Seimeniuk, Krentz, Gish and Gill, 2010). Domestic violence and abuse is not limited to obvious physical violence. It can mean endangerment, criminal coercion, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, trespassing, harassment and stalking (National Network to End Domestic Violence, 2011).