Locus of Control and Self-Efficacy as Means of Tackling Police Corruption in Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the effect of two existential-phenomenological counselling techniques (locus of control and self-efficacy) on the reduction of police corruption-facilitating attitudes in Nigeria. Three hundred police personnel from three State Police Commands participated in the study. These participants who ranged in age between 26 and 53 (Mean = 35.4) were allocated into one of two experimental conditions or a non-treatment control groups and as well matched into commissioned and noncommissioned groups. Participants treated with locus of control and self-efficacy (both involved six weekly sessions) showed significant reduction in a post-test corruption measure. Participants in the self-efficacy condition demonstrated a higher level of change than their counterparts in the locus of control condition. These findings and their implications for integrity-based policing are discussed.