Adeniyi Ojuope*
The study investigated the predictive roles parental attachment and physical abuse on conduct disorder among secondary school adolescents in Ondo State, Nigeria. It also investigated the joint prediction of parental attachment and physical abuse on conduct disorder among secondary adolescents. These were with the view to ascertaining factors that could predict conduct disorder among secondary school adolescents. Primary data, sourced through the administration of questionnaire, were used in the study. The population for the study was secondary school adolescents in Ondo State. A sample of 411 was selected through a multistage sampling procedure using Cochran’s sample size determination formula. Three standardized psychological scales (the Conduct Disorder Scale – CDS, the Parental Attachment Questionnaire – PAQ and the Physical Abuse Inventory – PAI) were used for data collection. Results showed that parental attachment (F1, 390= 36.72; p<.01; R2= 0.09) and physical abuse (F1, 390 = 7.36; p<. 01; R2= 0.02), significantly predicted conduct disorder. Furthermore, parental attachment and physical abuse jointly predicted conduct disorder (F2, 389 = 18.52; p<.01; R2 = 0.09). The study concluded that parental attachment and physical abuse were factors that predicted conduct disorder among secondary school adolescents in Ondo State, Nigeria.