Effects of Parenting Styles on Social Adjustment of Secondary School Students in Kebbi State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the effect of parenting styles on social adjustment of senior secondary school students in Kebbi State Nigeria. Ex-post facto research design was employed to collect the data. The study was carried out on a sample of 291 senior secondary school students drawn from 1,252 SS II students of six (6) selected senior secondary schools, using stratified random sampling technique. Parenting Style Questionnaire (PSQ) was used to assess three (3) parenting styles, while Modified Social Adjustment Scale (MSAS) was used to assess the social adjustment level of the students. One (1) hypothesis was formulated and tested in the study. The results of data analysis using One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) indicate that parenting styles (Democratic, Autocratic and Permissive) have significant effect on social adjustment of senior secondary school students. It is recommended that since parenting styles effect the social adjustment of students, parents should endeavour to adopt a style such as the democratic one that ensures or guarantees the development of some measure of positive self-concept, self-confidence, and self-esteem in the students.