A Comparative Study of the Effect of Family Types on Social Adjustment of Adolescent in Aba, Abia State

Abstract

The aim of the study was to compare the influence of family type on adolescent social behavior in Aba Metropolis of Abia State, Nigeria. The study was guided by three specific objectives, two research questions and two null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance. A survey research design was adopted for the study, 600 adolescents were purposively selected from 17 Secondary school in Aba Metropolis and used for the study. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire tagged Single Parent and Adolescent Social Adjustment Questionnaire (SPASAQ). The instrument had four sections A – D and 32 items. The instrument was validated by three experts and the reliability coefficient of 0.80 was high enough to guarantee the instrument reliable for use in the study. Data obtained was analysed using descriptive statistics, frequency and Mean while the hypotheses were tested using t-test. Findings revealed that single parenting had negative influence on parent-adolescent relationship and sibling-sibling relationship. The result of the hypotheses showed that there is a significant difference between family type and parent-adolescent relationship and adolescent-teacher relationship. Based on the findings of the study, the researchers recommend that irrespective of the family type, parents should build healthy relationship with their adolescents to curb anti-social behaviour.

Keywords: Family type; Adolescents; Social Adjustment; parent-adolescent relationship