Abstract

This study investigated the influence of parenting styles on moral behaviour of secondary school students in Nasarawa west senatorial district of Nasarawa State, Nigeria. The study was guided by two objectives, two research questions and two null hypotheses. Survey research design was used for the study. The population of the study comprise 38, 733 students both boys and girls between the ages of 12 – 16 years from 150 secondary schools in the five (5) Local Government Areas in Nasarawa west. A sample size of 380 respondents was selected using a multi-stage sampling procedure. Researcher structured Parenting Style and Moral Behaviour Questionnaire (PSMBQ) was used for data collection. Mean and standard deviation was used to answer research questions while Chi-Square analysis was used for testing hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study reveal that: There is a significant influence of authoritative parenting style on moral behaviour of secondary school students’ in Nasarawa West senatorial district of Nasarawa State, Nigeria. There is a significant influence of authoritarian parenting style on moral behaviour of secondary school students in Nasarawa West senatorial district of Nasarawa State. Based on the findings, the following recommendations were drawn: Parents should employ a combination of parenting styles depending on situation at hand, since no particular parenting style has a strong correlation with the moral behaviour of students’; Considering the contemporary era, in proportion to our society, where students’ are very intuitive and curious, parents should stick with the authoritarian approach of parenting which is a combination of authoritative and permissive styles and Parents’ and Teachers’ Association across schools should periodically organize seminars and workshops on impact of parenting styles on students’ moral behaviour