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

Abstract

This study examined permissive and uninvolved parenting styles and mental well-being of secondary school students in Osun State, Nigeria. The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of permissive and uninvolved parenting styles, assess the mental well-being of secondary school students, and investigate the relationship between permissive and uninvolved 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 (SSSIII) students in Osun State, where 1,200 Senior Secondary School Three (SSSIII) students were selected as sample across the state using a multistage sampling procedure. An instrument titled "Permissive and Uninvolved Parenting Styles and Mental Well-being of Students Questionnaire (PUAPSMWSQ)" 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 both permissive parenting and uninvolved parenting recorded low prevalence among secondary school students in Osun State, with grand means of 2.03 and 2.14 respectively, both falling below the cut-off mean of 2.50. Students generally demonstrated good mental well-being, with a grand mean of 1.96, indicating low levels of mental health challenges across the measured domains. The study further revealed that permissive parenting had a significant negative relationship with students' mental well-being (r = -0.474, p = 0.000), while uninvolved parenting also had a significant negative relationship with mental well-being (r = -0.586, p = 0.000), with uninvolved parenting representing the stronger risk factor. Based on the findings, it was recommended that targeted mental health interventions be made available for students and that family-based intervention programmes be established to address parenting practices and adolescent mental health outcomes simultaneously. Parents should also be educated on the importance of maintaining clear boundaries and expectations alongside emotional warmth and supportive communication.