ABSTRACT
This study investigated the correlation between some psychological and home environmental variables and secondary school adolescent adjustment in Abia State. The study adopted a correlational research design. Four research questions and four null hypotheses guided the study. The population of the study comprised 8783 (4195 males and 4588 female) secondary school students. The sample for the study consisted 878 respondents drawn through two-stage sampling procedure. Three instruments were developed by the researcher from information got from literature. They are: Psychological Variables Questionnaire (PVQ), Home Environment Questionnaire (HEQ) and School Adjustment Questionnaire (SAQ). The instruments were face and content validated by three experts in Psychology, Guidance and Counselling and Measurement and Evaluation; all from the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike respectively. The stability of the instrument were determined using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and a reliability index result of the data analysis were reported as follows; Psychological Variables Questionnaire (PVQ), yielded a reliability index of .75. Home Environment Questionnaire (HEQ) item analysis yielded 0.85 and School Adjustment Questionnaire (SAQ) item analysis yielded 0.93 respectively. The data obtained through the administration of the instruments were analyzed using Pearson product moment correlation coefficient to answer the research questions. Linear regression and multiple regressions were used to test null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Scheffe test was also done for a step-wise comparison of the means for /hypotheses three and four, which revealed the following findings: Emotional intelligence to a very highly positive and significant extent and self-concept to a highly positive and significant extent correlate with in-school adolescents’ adjustment as they predicted 72.4% and 61.3% of adjustment of in-school adolescents respectively; There was a significant correlation between parenting styles (authoritarian, authoritative, permissive) and in-school adolescents’ adjustment. Joint parenting styles (authoritarian, authoritative and permissive) predicted 77.6% of in-school adolescents’ adjustment. However, authoritative parenting style had the highest percentage contribution of 61.5%; followed by authoritarian parenting style with 52.3% and lastly permissive parenting style which predicted 27.5% of in-school adolescents’ adjustment; there was a significant correlation between joint home environmental variables (parenting styles, parental education level and parental income level) and in-school adolescents’ adjustment. Joint home environmental variables (parenting styles, parental education level and parental income level) predicted 99.4% of in-school adolescents’ adjustment. However, parenting styles had the highest percentage contribution of 77.6%; followed by parental education level with 76.6% and lastly parental income level which predicted 62.9% of in-school adolescents’ adjustment. It was thus recommended that teachers, counsellors/psychologists, parents or guardians should educate their children on the importance of some psychological and home environmental variables in school adjustment.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Declaration ii
Dedication iii
Certification iv
Acknowledgements v
Table of Contents vii
Abstract x
CHAPTER 1:
INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background
of the Study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 9
1.3 Purpose of the Study 10
1.4 Significance of the Study 11
1.5 Research Questions 13
1.6 Hypotheses 14
1.7 Scope of the Study 14
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 15
2.1 Conceptual Framework 15
2.1.1
Concept
of adolescence 15
2.1.2 Secondary school adjustment 19
2.1.3 Emotional intelligence and adjustment of
adolescents 20
2.1.4 Concept of self-concept and adjustment of
adolescents 23
2.1.5 Parenting styles and adolescents adjustment 25
2.1.6 Socio-economic status and adolescence
adjustment 29
2.2 Theoretical Framework 31
2.2.1 The social learning theory by Albert Bandura (1977) 31
2.2.2 Sigmund
Freud’s personality and adjustment theory (1856-1939) 33
2.2.3 Cognitive
developmental theory by Jean Piaget (1972) 34
2.3 Review of Related Empirical Studies 35
2.4 Summary of Related Literature Reviewed 51
CHAPTER
3: METHODOLOGY 54
3.1 Design of the Study 54
3.2 Area of the Study 54
3.3 Population of the Study 56
3.4 Sample and Sampling Technique 56
3.5 Instruments for Data Collection 57
3.6 Validation of the Instruments 58
3.7 Reliability of the Instruments 58
3.8 Method of Data Collection/Experimental
Procedure 59
3.9 Method
of Data Analysis 60
CHAPTER
4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 62
4.1 Results 62
4.2 Major
Findings of the Study 80
4.3 Discussion
of Findings of the Study 82
CHAPTER
5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 88
5.1 Summary 88
5.2 Conclusion 90
5.3 Educational
Implications of the Study 92
5.4 Recommendations 95
5.5 Limitations
of the Study 95
5.6 Suggestions
for Further Study 95
REFERENCES 96
APPENDICES 106
LIST OF TABLES
4.1 Correlation
Matrix of Emotional Intelligence and Adjustment of
In-School Adolescents 62
4.2:
Linear Regression Analysis of the Correlation between Emotional
Intelligence and In-School Adolescents’
Adjustment in Abia State 63
4.3: Correlation
Matrix of Self-Concept and In-School Adolescents’ Adjustment 64
4.4:
Linear Regression Analysis of the Correlation between Self-Concept and In-
School Adolescents’ Adjustment 65
4.5: Correlation
Matrix of Joint Psychological Variables (Emotional
Intelligence
and Self-Concept) and Adjustment of In-School Adolescents 66
4.6:
Multiple Regression Analysis of Joint Psychological Variables (Emotional
Intelligence and Self-Concept) and Adjustment of In-School Adolescents 67
4.7: Scheffe
Test on Relative Contribution of Joint Psychological Variables
(Emotional Intelligence and
Self-Concept) in Adjustment
of In-School
Adolescents 68
4.8: Correlation
Matrix of Joint Parenting Styles (Authoritarian,
Authoritative and
Permissive) Correlate Adjustment of
In-School Adolescents 69
4.9:
Multiple Regression Analysis of Parenting Styles (Authoritarian,
Authoritative, Permissive) and In-School
Adolescents’ Adjustment 71
4.10: Scheffe
Test on Relative Contribution of Parenting Styles
(Authoritarian, Authoritative,
Permissive) in In-School
Adolescents’ Adjustment in Abia State 72
4.11:
Correlation Matrix of Parental Education Level Correlates and
Adjustment
of In-School Adolescents 73
4.12:
Linear Regression Analysis of the Correlation between Parental Educational
Level and In-School Adolescents’
Adjustment in Abia State 74
4.13:
Correlation Matrix of Parental Income Level and In-School Adolescents’
Adjustment 75
4.14:
Linear Regression Analysis of the Correlation between Parental Income
Level and In-School Adolescents’ Adjustment 76
4.15: Correlation
Matrix of Joint Home Environmental Variables
(Parenting Styles, Parental Education
Level and Parental Income Level)
and Adjustment
of In-School Adolescents 77
4.16:
Multiple Regression Analysis of Joint Home Environmental Variables
(Parenting Styles, Parental Education
Level and Parental
Income Level) and Adjustment of In-School Adolescents 78
4.17: Scheffe
Test on Relative Contribution of Joint Home Environmental
Variables (Parenting Styles, Parental
Education Level and Parental Income
Level)
in Adjustment of
In-School Adolescents 80
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
TO THE STUDY
Adolescence period
is a period of life cycle between childhood and adulthood with some unique
characteristics connected with development and marked by dramatic challenges
that require adjustment to changes in self, in the family and in the society at
large. Adolescence period has been of great concern to psychologists, parents,
teachers and society at large. According to Opara (2014), adolescence is the
period of transition from the dependent childhood to independent adulthood.
Opara further maintained that adolescence is a period in which a person moves
out of home circle and becomes mentally, socially and emotionally independent.
It is a period at which an individual seeks to discover him/herself as a member
of the society. Dibia (2014) added that adolescence period varies from one
socio economic level to another and from culture to culture. In terms of
changes in self, the adolescent experiences physical growth, sexual maturation,
intense emotional, social, cognitive and personal development. The adolescence
period could be a period when most adolescents are in schools.
The in-school
adolescents are individuals found to be in their late primary schools to
tertiary schools for those who are going to school. However, for this research,
the focus is on those at their middle adolescence from 15 to 17 years usually
in senior secondary schools. Secondary school adolescents are students who are
currently in secondary schools. They are referred as in-school adolescents. Consequently,
in the words of Isangedighi, Joshua, Asim and Ekuri (2014), learners go to
school at different levels of development, under different environmental influences,
with different social attitudes and behaviour, and from different cultures and
ethnic orientations. How these individuals progress over time with their
diverse psychosocial characteristics is an important area of educational
research. One of such psychosocial traits is the ability of an individual to
adjust effectively into a new environment, especially as it concerns transition
from one school level to another.
Adjustment is a
very significant factor in determining the degree of achievement of students.
According to Gupta and Mehtani (2017), adjustment is a psychological process of
adapting to, coping with and managing the problems, challenges and demand of
everyday life. Adjustment consists of two kinds of processes; fitting of
oneself into given circumstances, and to change the circumstances to fit one’s
needs (Ogbeba, 2022). The quality of adjustment of a child at the early years
of birth, may determine the quality of adjustment at the later years of life. Adjustment
of secondary school students is therefore necessary for high academic
performance; strong personality build up and well-being and so on. Adolescents’
adjustment to school could be influenced by a variety of personal and family
attributions as well as social trends. School adjustment is the process of
adapting to meet academic demands in the school environment. School adjustment
according to Okoye in Ogbeba (2022) is a behavioural pattern that enables a
student to get along with both academics and social demands in the school
setting. Students’ adjustment to school may be regarded as the ability to cope
with the personal, academics, social, emotional and moral problems in
accordance with the expectation of teachers, psychologists, counsellors and
classmates. Those students who cannot meet the expected school demands may become
frustrated and maladjusted.
The problem of
adjustment among secondary school adolescents has been the concern of both the
government and educationists. In recent times, there are varieties of behaviour
exhibited by some secondary school adolescents in Nigeria, which may make a
right-thinking citizen wonder if our national values have gone into extinction.
For instance, personal observation shows that some adolescents could be seen in
gambling (bet9ja, pool) offices, while school activities are in progress,
flouting the laws/rules without considering the consequences. Examination
malpractice and cultism are now in an alarming rate. Previously, cultism existed
among students in higher institutions of learning. Nowadays, secondary school
adolescents indulge in cultism before proceeding into higher institutions of
learning. These nefarious activities may lure them into maladjusted behaviours
like bullying, armed robbery, as well as untimely death. Other disturbing experiences
include alarming rate of alcohol and substance abuse, prostitution, high
incidence of teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, increase in
school dropout among some of the in-school adolescents.
Efforts have been
made to curb adolescents’ maladaptive behaviour but the problem is still
prevalent. For instance, Dibia (2014) reported
that well-adjusted students usually value what they are learning; are
positively involved in classroom activities and receive high grades. Dibia (2014)
therefore, recommended that adolescents need to be counselled and tele-guided
and, and for this to be effective one needs to know which group of adolescents
are capable of adjusting and which of them have greater difficulty in doing so.
Furthermore, 1stCorinthians 15:33 recommended that one should not be
misled, “-----bad company corrupts good character’’. Adolescents, who move in
group of gamblers, drug addicts, prostitutes, school dropouts may find it
difficult to adjust properly to school because of relationship trend. Nwachukwu
cited in Ogbeba (2012) also recommended that for one to be adjusted, one needs
an ability to adapt, regulate, or accommodate oneself to a particular situation
or environment. These recommendations sound very interesting in their
theoretical orientation, but the problem of maladjustment of the in-school
adolescents in the secondary schools is still persistent. The fact that certain
maladaptive behaviours like bullying, armed robbery, alcohol and substance
abuse, prostitution, high incidence of teenage pregnancies and sexually
transmitted diseases, increase in school dropout are still prevalent among the in-school
adolescents suggest that our secondary school students are not well adjusted
and may need an urgent attention.
Literature reports
from Western Europe tend to suggest that some psychological and environmental
variables have the potentials of correlating with secondary school adolescents’
adjustment. The psychological variables may include emotional intelligence and
self-concept. According to Mayer and Salovey in Nafor (2014), emotional
intelligence is the ability to monitor one’s own and others feelings and
emotions to discriminate among others and use this information to guide ones’
thinking and actions. Thompson cited in Sawhney and Kaur (2016) defined emotional
intelligence as a person’s innate ability to perceive and manage his/her own
emotion in a manner that results in successful interactions with the
environment, and, if others are present, to also perceive and manage their
emotions in a manner that results to a successful interpersonal interaction. Emotional
intelligence plays powerful role in people’s lives and it helps in
understanding and controlling emotions and using them in a more beneficial way.
Emotional intelligence was also seen by Segal and Smith (2013) as the ability
to identify, use, understand and manage emotions in positive ways to relieve
stress, overcome challenges, empathize with others, and defuse conflict. Emotional
intelligence has to do with in-school adolescents’ ability to perceive, control
and evaluate emotions. Lack of emotional intelligence or empathy for the needs
and desires of others could be one of the main causes of academic
maladjustment.
One of the
developmental tasks that have been suspected to be affected by emotional
intelligence is self-concept. Self–concept is another dominant variable in the
process of human development. It is a construct, which means the image built
for oneself. Oladele cited in Nafor (2014) defined self-concept as the sum of
what an individual believes to be true about him or herself and the importance,
he/she attaches to these beliefs. This means that what a person thinks and
feels about him/herself becomes his or her self-concept. How the student sees
him/herself in terms of ability, social skills, behaviour, potentials,
qualities, shortcomings, achievement or failure, may constitute his/her
individual self-concept. Okorodudu and Okorodudu,(2013) stated that the adjusted
child is able to demonstrate self-confidence and courage while the maladjusted
child may manifest strong sense of inferiority or insecurity, which he/she
tries always to protect. In fact, it could be said that children who have
strong feelings of inferiority are largely prone to maladjustment. The
researcher views self-concept as a
collection of beliefs about oneself. Self-concept is distinguishable from
self-awareness, which refers to the extent to which self-knowledge is defined,
consistent, and currently applicable to one's attitudes and dispositions.
Some factors that are suspected to correlate with the
in-school adolescent students’ adjustment are home environmental variables. Environment
was defined by Lewandowski and Drotar (2017) as one’s immediate surrounding
circumstances or influence. Idowu (2022)
also defined environment as a surrounding in which a child learns. Here,
environment is the immediate surroundings in which the pupils find themselves,
which could influence them. It could be physical or psychological conditions
that affect children. Environment can be classified into home environment,
school environment, psychological environment, social environment,
technological environment (Idowu, 2022). However, this study focuses on the
psychological and home environmental variables.
Home is one of the
most important agencies of a child’s education. The educational, social,
emotional and psychological adjustment of a child begins at home, the first
educational institution of a child. According to Dibia (2014), home is the
place where one lives, especially with one’s family. Egunsola (2014) opined
that a home is a place where students live with their parents or guardian and
it is the place where they are groomed. It is a place where the students begin
to learn the norms and values of the society in which they find themselves.
Home environment therefore can be said to mean the surroundings, circumstances
or influences in the home that affect the child (Dibia, 2019). Egunsola
affirmed that home environment is the family background of the students; which
includes all human and material resources present at the home that may affect
the student’s education and living such as parenting styles, parents’ level of
education, economic status of parents and other socializing facilities
available in the house. According to Idowu (2012), the child’s environment is
made up of the forces that influence the growth and development of the child,
his behaviour and the realization of his potentials, intellectual and
otherwise.
Parenting styles
adopted by parents in rearing the child may affect adolescents’ adjustment at
school and academic achievement. Parenting styles may affect the adjustment
level of secondary school adolescents because some parents may have
inconsistent method of child rearing practices. Some of the parenting styles,
differentiated by the extent to which parents influence their children have
been suggested by Baumrind (2020) and Westen (2020). They are: authoritarian,
authoritative and permissive among other parenting styles. Authoritarian
parenting is a parenting style which stakes a high premium on obedience and
regard for authority. It does not create opportunities to discuss why certain
behaviours elicit certain reactions. This style of parenting can be equated to
autocratic style of parenting in which the parents make all the decisions. Izundu
(2015) believed that authoritarian style was designed for delinquent or hard to
do child. He opined that this style has not promoted academic performance of
students nor has it enhanced the stay of students in school. Rather it makes
them blunt and inferior in the class because at home the child was trained to
accept everything without much clarification. The child was not trained to
contribute. This however may have a great impact on the child’s academic
performance and adjustment in school. Another style of parenting is
authoritative parenting which set specific standard for children and ensure
that these standards are followed. The parents, however, create room for verbal
dialogue and discussion. This parenting style can be equated to the democratic
parenting style. Here, Baumrind (2016) was of the opinion that students from
authoritative homes are likely to be more self-confident and are less likely to
be influenced by their peers. He equally revealed that students that come from
authoritative parenting homes perform well at school because they are more
relaxed in their work. Permissive parenting style is another style that gives
children free hand and opportunity to decide for themselves. Permissive parents
often accept their children’s sudden bizarre behaviours like restlessness and
aggression. They hardly met out any punishment to these children. This style
can be equated to the so called laissez- faire style of parenting. This may
have relationship with the child’s academic performance and school adjustment.
The findings of this research study would investigate if there would be any correlation
among the various types of parenting styles and in-school adolescents’ adjustment.
Discussion
on factors that contribute to the adjustment of school adolescents cannot be
complete without mention of socio-economic status of parents. According to
Nafor (2014) socio-economic status refers to economic fortunes in terms of educational
level of parents, incomes, wealth, social status to which the students are
exposed. Educational level of parents plays a major role in children’s life.
Researchers have noted that parents from lower educational level are more
likely to give orders to their children in their interactions while parents
with a higher educational level are more likely to interact and play with their
children. A division in education attainment is thus born out of these two
differences in child rearing. Research has shown how children who are born by
patents with low educational qualification have weaker language skills compared
to children raised by patents with higher educational qualification (Izundu, 2015).
These language skills affect their abilities to learn and thus exacerbate the
problem of education disparity (Lareau, 2013). Parents’ educational background
includes literate and illiterate parents. Literate parents are those that
possess FSLC, WASC, NCE/OND, HND/First Degree or Higher Degree.
Socio-economic
status is also defined by the amount of income generated in the family that is
the ability to provide for the family (Cherlin in Dibia, 2019). It is noted
that presently, most Nigerian parents are facing economic hardship as a result
of so-called recession. Stressing on this, Uzoka (2020) added that the
excruciating poverty has rendered Nigerian family incapable of effectively
performing its traditional roles, especially that of providing basic needs for
dependent members and ensuring the highest possible standard of moral
uprightness.
Meanwhile, some
adolescents are nurtured in a state of abject penury while some others are
brought up in affluent condition; life is good and there is no need to do
anything that can endanger their lives. For those brought up in the former
condition, the reverse is the case as they have to struggle for survival.
Chauhan cited in Onyekuru and Eke (2014) also observed that poverty of parents
makes it impossible to fulfill the legitimate basic psychological needs; this could
give rise to frustration which could trigger anger and general maladjusted
behaviour as a survival strategy. He further maintained that maladjusted
behaviour is more acute among adolescents with low socio-economic background.
Uzoka (2020) added that children denied of love, basic needs and economic
independence tend to engage in antisocial behaviours. This may be as a result
of not being able to adjust well in their environment.
Over the years,
researchers continued to examine psychological and environmental variables
among secondary school student’s adjustment. Ekeke (2015) investigated on the
relationship between psychological and sociological factors and alcohol
consumption among undergraduates. Nnaji (2014) looked into influence of
psychological and sociological factors on adjustment among bereaved widows,
Dibia (2019) carried out research on home environmental factors as correlates
to secondary school adolescents’ adjustment, but her work was based on one
independent variable. The work of Nafor (2014) examined both psychological
and environmental variables, but there
are marked differences in terms of focus and their effects were examined still
in a different area of study. To the researcher’s knowledge, no study
correlating the set of psychological and home environmental variables in this
study has been carried out among secondary school adolescents in Abia state,
the domain of this research. It is against this background that the researcher
was motivated to investigate psychological and environmental variables as
correlate of secondary school adolescent adjustment in Abia state.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Before the current
changes in the society students showed great enthusiasm for school and overall
school activities. Students were positively involved in classroom work and
valued what they were learning. Furthermore, salaries of parents were paid as
at when due which created joy and strengthened their financial muscle of
providing basic needs for their dependent members of the family. As a result of
parental involvement in their children academic achievement, which created high
emotional balance in students for positive relationship with others to cope
with challenges and expectations present in schools and consequently the
students were easily adjusted in their school environment.
Nowadays, there is
a growing public concern about health and well-being of Nigerian secondary
school students. There are serious indications that the nation’s adolescents especially
those in secondary schools are in a state of crisis. The disturbing parameters
include rising level of violent death resulting from armed robbery incidents
and cultism in campuses across the country. Others are alarming rate of alcohol
and substance abuse, gambling, the frequency of examination malpractice,
increase in school drop-out rate, high incidence of teenage pregnancies and
sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS. However, the extent psychological and home environmental
variables correlate with secondary school adolescents’ adjustment in Abia
State has not been investigated. The problem of this study therefore, put in a
question form is: To what extent do psychological and home environmental variables correlate with secondary
school adolescents’ adjustment in Abia State?
1.1
PURPOSE
OF THE STUDY
The main purpose
of this study was to investigate the extent psychological and home environmental variables correlate
with secondary school adolescents’ adjustment in Abia State.
Specifically, the
study sought to:
1. Determine
the extent emotional intelligence correlates
with adjustment of in-school adolescents.
2
Determine the extent self-concept
correlates with
adjustment of in-school adolescents.
3
Find out the extent joint
psychological variables (emotional
intelligence and self-concept) correlate
with adjustment of in-school adolescents.
4
Find out the extent joint
parenting styles (authoritarian, authoritative and permissive) correlate adjustment
of in-school adolescents.
5
Find out the extent parental
education level correlates with adjustment of in-school adolescents.
6
Ascertain the extent parental
income level correlates with adjustment of in-school adolescents.
7
Find out the extent joint
home environmental variables
(parenting styles, parental education level and parental income level)
correlate with adjustment of in-school adolescents.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
The findings of the study may have both
theoretical and practical significance. Theoretically, the findings of the
study may support the Social learning theory by
Albert Bandura in 1977. Social learning theory explains human behaviour in
terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioural and
environmental influences. According to Bandura, there are four processes
involved in modeling: attention, retention, motor reproduction and
reinforcement. The social learning theory assumes that the learner is a member
of a social group. Thus, the learner is expected to give regard to approvals
and disapprovals or the generalized reinforcers of the social group. The theory
assumes that the teacher must watch out for the bad influence of faulty models
in the class and school environment. This is crucial because many forms of
psycho-social adjustment problems such as bullying, aggressiveness, truancy,
delinquency, assaults, examination malpractice, robbery and other deviant
behaviours exhibited by students inside and outside school are behaviours which
many instances have their roots in identification, imitation, and modeling of
such figures in the social environment. This, on the other hand implies that if
the student identifies, imitates and models the right person, in the social
environment, proper psychological and school adjustment will take place.
Practically, the study may be beneficial
to adolescents, parents, teachers, psychologist, counsellors, researchers,
school administrators and the general public public at large.
The findings of
the study if published, could help the parents or guardians gain insight and
understand the importance of discharging their family responsibilities towards
the upbringing of their children. It would inform the parents about the
appropriate parenting styles to handle, in different situations, in terms of
adolescent school adjustment.
Secondary school adolescents
would be ignited and inspired by the knowledge from this study. It would help
them understand their emotions and way to carry themselves, which could help
them develop positive adjustment.
The outcome of
this study will enable psychologists acquire abundant wealth of knowledge from
this study, in the sense that it would give them insight on why adolescents do
not adjust well in schools.
Teachers find the
results of the study useful. Since students learn by observation and imitation,
the result would help the teachers know what is expected of them as the role
model. It would help them know the type of behaviour, they would showcase which
would be favourable for students’ adjustment.
Furthermore,
school counsellors would gain more insight on relevance of adjustment to
adolescents’ personalities and stand in a better position to know the
appropriate techniques and procedures to use towards solving adjustment
problems among in-school adolescents.
The finding from
this study would go a long way in helping government formulate policies towards
child rearing practices. The result would boost their efforts in the sphere of
adult education and public enlightenment campaign which would enlighten the
parents on the importance of home environment on adolescent’s adjustment.
Future researchers
will also share in the numerous benefits of this study, as the information and
recommendation will be a source of research material or empirical data for
them.
It is expected that the findings of the
study would motivate those at the helm of administration to evolve new
approaches and techniques for making educational system effective by orienting
the administrators on the modern techniques that would ensure appropriate
adolescents’ adjustment.
Lastly, experience
has shown that disciplined students learn faster and perform better
academically than undisciplined students. The finding of this study will go a
long way to help the school administrators, know the type of disciplinary
method and measures to be used in correcting maladjusted behaviours of
adolescent, as to produce students who can contribute meaningfully towards the
development.
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following
research questions guided the study: -
1.
To what extent does emotional
intelligence correlates with
adjustment of in-school adolescents?
2.
What is the extent
self-concept correlates with
adjustment of in-school adolescents?
3.
To what extent do joint psychological variables (emotional
intelligence and self-concept)
correlate with adjustment of in-school adolescents?
4.
To what extent do joint parenting
styles (authoritarian, authoritative and permissive) correlate adjustment of
in-school adolescents?
5.
What is the extent
parental education level correlates with adjustment of in-school adolescents?
6.
What is the extent
parental income level correlates with adjustment of in-school adolescents?
7.
To what extent do joint home environmental variables
(parenting styles, parental education level and parental income level)
correlate with adjustment of in-school adolescents?
1.6 HYPOTHESES
The following
hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance to guide
the study.
H01: There
is no significant correlation between emotional intelligence and adjustment of
in-school adolescents.
H02: There
is no significant correlation between self-concept and adjustment of in-school
adolescents.
H03: Joint
psychological variables (emotional
intelligence and self-concept) do
not significantly
correlate with adjustment of in-school adolescents
H04: There
is no significant correlation between joint parenting styles (authoritarian,
authoritative permissive) and adjustment of in-school adolescents’ in Abia
State.
H05: Parental
education level does not significantly correlate with adjustment of in-school
adolescents.
H06: Parental
income level does not significantly correlate with adjustment of in-school
adolescents.
H07: There
is no significant correlation between joint home environmental variables (parenting styles,
parental education level and parental income level) and adjustment of in-school
adolescents.
1.7 SCOPE OF
THE STUDY
This study was delimited
to secondary school adolescents in Abia state. The study specifically investigated
the correlation between some selected psychological (emotional intelligence,
self-concept) and home environmental (parenting styles, parental education
level and parental income level) variables and secondary school adolescents’
adjustment of the students.
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