Most Students of education department have tried documenting deviant behavior exhibited by Nigerian secondary school student in their undergraduate research work, yet the causes have been attended to with scant interest. However, while it is believed that no one cause may be taken at a time to be responsible for the manifestation of a particular maladaptive behavior. Rather, certain aggregate factors might work together to generate unwholesome behaviour in individuals.

Nature and Characteristics of Adolescence: The secondary school child is generally an adolescent between childhood and adulthood. First, the child is leaving on stage of growth to another and this is a problem. He is neither a child nor an adult but has his own world. Moreover, he is influenced by his physical development. These physical changes in boys and girls remind them that they are ready to have sexual relations. A boy who wants the opposite sex partner may often want to impress. But since he has no means to do that it is unlikely that he might be led to steal. Also, adolescence always want to behave like adult. So some try to smoke which is traditionally and adult act. Their smoking therefore is an expression that they are also adults.

Unwholesome Mass Media Effects : The mass media which include radio, television, newspaper and magazines are recently developed agency of education in Nigeria. Their major is to feed the public with information. However, the present trend in the growing complex media service seems to produce greater negative impact on the character formation and adjustment process of children more that their positive impressions. The dynamic explosion in the mass media system through the provision of pornographic films and literature has contributed greatly to the acquisition of deviant practices among children in Nigeria.

Peer Group Influence : Peer group influence is another significant source of delinquent behavior among school children. The spoilt children in the group exert negative influences on other members of the group. Since the group interests and activities are not supervised by knowledgeable adults, they form goals and objectives not in consonance with the existing norms of the school and society at large.