Abstract
BACKGROUND: Research indicates that young people in Nigeria mistakenly think that participating in politics is a "do-or-die" situation. This tendency has resulted in varying political beliefs, attitudes, and behavior patterns that may be irrational. This has occasionally led to a rise in the rate of social disengagement, thuggery, and electoral violence among young people. As a result, there is a lack of psychologically based interventions addressing this issue, which puts young people's welfare at risk. In light of these findings, the study examined the impact of rational emotive behavioral education (REBE) on electoral violence among students in federal universities in Southeast Nigeria. METHODS: A pure experimental research design was used in the study. In all, 220 undergraduate students served as study participants. This sample was collected using a multiphase sampling technique. A modified version of the electoral violence attitude scale was used as an instrument for data collection. The mean, standard deviation, and analysis of covariance were used to analyze the data gathered. RESULTS: The findings indicated that REBE effectively changed students' perceptions of election violence. Compared with their male peers, female students experienced a greater decrease in electoral violence during the therapy period. Thus, when exposed to REBE, students' electoral violence in federal universities in Southeast Nigeria was strongly influenced by their gender. CONCLUSION: The study concluded that the perception of students at federal universities in Southeast Nigeria about electoral violence can be effectively reduced by using REBE.