CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Gang associations in Nigeria have been a key issue that opposes democratic governance and a problem which calls for serious attention. The gang associations are seen or viewed to be a fountainhead of violence and insecurity in Nigeria. Hence, for a reasonable growth to take place in the country, the society must be free of at least 60 percent of crime. This will help move all form of development forward. Most cities in Nigeria have been turned into cities of criminal gangs where residents are afraid of carrying out their legitimate functions on the frame of the activities of these bullies and gangsters. The insecurity inflicted on the people by these gang associations has made the cities unsafe, as their activities have reached a strange level in many cities in the country. The term socio-demographic is defined as a group known by its sociological and demographic characteristics. Socio-demographic groups are mostly used for a careful study of something to learn about its parts, what to do, and how they are related to each other in the social sciences, and also for marketing and medical studies. Demographic characteristics can be seen as age, sex, place of residence, religion, educational level and marital status while sociological characteristics are more of objective traits, which include membership in organizations, household status, interests, values and social groups. Thus, a group founded on the basis of both sociological and demographic traits, such as people under 30 years of age who have interest in environmentalism, is a typical example of a socio-demographic group. Studies that section people into groups by education, relative income, ethnicity and gender are considered socio-demographic studies. Age and sex are the most paramount elements that influence the human race and health and are the major characteristics by which analyses have been carried out in this report. There is therefore a large literature centers on sex differences in health and mortality. While other authors argue on the need of either biological or socio-economic and behaviour factors in these sex differences. It is largely agreed that women live longer than men. On the total, women in countries like Nigeria live more than five years longer than men. Marital status is also another factor that has been found to aect health and mortality. Married people have significantly better health and a lower mortality than their single counterparts. These results are specifically strong for men. A large number of studies observed that widowed, divorced and never married individuals were more likely to die than married people. Therefore, it is important carefully look into changes in marital status with time. As people age and die, there is an increase in the proportion of widows and widowers. This can lead to economic, social, psychological and other changes. Cohabitation is another area on which this study will focus on. This is important because of a rapid increase in cohabitation that could be reflected in the cohorts the population. Among other factors, living arrangements, family ties, relationship and support are also considered to be of significant importance for health and mortality, especially at older ages.