PARENTING STYLES AS CORRELATES OF ACADEMIC LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Abstract

The study investigated parenting stylesas correlates of academic learned helplessness among secondary school students in Rivers state. Parenting styles of (authoritarian parenting, authoritative parenting, permissive parenting and uninvolved parenting styles) were the independent variables while academic learned helplessness was the dependent variable. Five research questions and five null hypotheses guided the study. A sample of 500 SS2 academic learned helplessness students in Rivers State was drawn from a population of 32,126 SS2 students in public secondary schools Rivers state, using multi-stage sampling technique. Two instruments were used for the study: Parenting Styles Scale (PSS) and Academic Learned Helplessness Scale (ALHS). Data collected were analyzed using simple and multiple regression statistics. Results of the study indicated that parenting styles collectively had a positive, non significant relationship with academic learned helplessness. Independently, authoritative parenting style had a negative relationship with academic learned helplessness, while authoritarian parenting, permissive parenting and uninvolved parenting styles had positive relationships with academic learned helplessness.Statistical testing revealed that independently, all the parenting styles had no with academic learned helplessness. Based on the findings appropriate recommendations were made among which is that parents should make use of authoritative parenting style as it helps to curb the problem of academic learned helplessness