IMPACT OF PARENTING STYLES AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT ON ADOLESCENTS ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

Abstract This study investigated impact of parenting styles and child development on adolescents’ antisocial behavior. Two hundred and two (202) participants comprising; male (92) and female (110) undergraduates drawn from Godfrey Okoye University Enugu, participated in the study. Participant’s ages ranged from 13 years to 17 years (M = 15.15; SD = 3.21). Cluster and simple random sampling technique were used in drawing the participants for the study. Two hypotheses were formulated and tested. Three instruments were used in the study. They are; Antisocial Behaviour Scale (ABS), The Perceived Parenting Style Scale developed by Divya and Manikandan (2013) and Neighborhood Developmental Assets (Buckner 1988). Result showed that authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles negatively significantly predicted antisocial behavior of adolescents; while permissive parenting positively significantly predicted antisocial behaviour. Child development was a negative significant predictor of adolescent antisocial behavior. One practical implication of the study is that training children with authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles protects them from engaging in antisocial behavior. Similarly, giving children good child development early in life serve as a protective factor that enable them overcome antisocial behaviour. Limitations were made and suggestions/recommendation stated for further studies.