PARENTING STYLES (AUTHORITARIAN AND AUTHORITATIVE) AND MENTAL WELL-BEING OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined authoritarian, authoritative parenting styles and mental well-being of secondary school students in Osun State, Nigeria. The purpose of the study was to find out the prevalent parenting styles, the mental well-being of secondary school students, the relationship between authoritarian and authoritative parenting styles and mental well-being of secondary school students in Osun State. The descriptive research design of the survey type was adopted for the study. The population for the study comprised 16,748 Senior Secondary School Three (SSIII) students in Osun State, where 1,200 Senior Secondary School Three (SSSIII) students were selected as sample across the three senatorial districts of the state using a multistage sampling procedure. An instrument titled "Authoritarian and Authoritative Parenting Styles and Mental Well-being of Students Questionnaire (AAPSMWSQ)" was used to collect data for the study. The instrument was validated by various experts the reliability of the instrument was determined using the test-retest method, which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.82. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed that authoritative parenting is the predominant parenting style (x̄ = 2.54) among secondary school students in Osun State, while authoritarian parenting recorded a low prevalence (x̄ = 2.12). Students generally demonstrated good mental well-being. The study further revealed that authoritarian parenting had a significant negative relationship with students' mental well-being (r = -0.580, p = 0.000), while authoritative parenting had a significant positive relationship with mental well-being (r = 0.442, p = 0.042). Gender did not significantly influence the mental well-being of secondary school students when parenting styles were controlled as covariates (F = 0.149, p = .700). Based on the findings, it was recommended that parenting education programmes should be established to teach parents how to adopt authoritative practices that combine clear behavioural expectations with emotional warmth and responsive communication. Counselling and mental health intervention programmes should also be provided for students, and schools should develop workshops that promote healthy parenting and mental health support for all families and students.