Parenting Style, Emotional Intelligence and Psychological Health of Nigerian Children

Aim: Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been defined as the ability to perceive, understand, regulate, and connect emotions to oneself and in relation to others. Research findings show that parenting style could potentially contribute to or hinder the lifetime success of a child well into adulthood including leadership roles. The influence of parenting style on the emotional intelligence and psychological health of the Nigerian child has not being given adequate research attention.

Study Design: Exploratory /Descriptive survey design.

Methodology: Purposive sampling technique was used to select 332 (mean age = 14) in-school adolescents who responded to Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS), Parenting Style Dimension Questionnaire (PSDQ) and General Health Questionnaire -12 (GHQ-12). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis.

Results: Observed patterns for low, high and very high levels respectively are: authoritative parenting style (45.5%, 41.6%, and 12.9%), authoritarian parenting style (53%, 30.7% and 16.3%); permissive parenting style (64.2%, 20.7% and 15.1%). Authoritative as well as authoritarian parenting styles were observed to significantly predict Emotional Intelligence. Permissive parenting style failed to significantly predict Emotional Intelligence. Authoritative parenting style failed to significantly predict psychological distress, while authoritarian as well as permissive parenting styles were significant predictors of psychological distress.

Conclusion: Authors conclude that a child’s emotional intelligence and psychological health status are products of parenting style.