ABSTRACT
The study explored home environmental factors as predictors of personality characteristics of secondary school adolescents in Benue State, Nigeria. The home environmental factors are family relationship, parenting style, family moral standard, family type and socio-economic status of parents. The personality characteristics were in the dimensions of trust vs defensiveness, orderliness vs lack of compulsion, social conformity vs rebellioness, activity vs lack of energy, emotional stability vs neuroticism, extroversion vs introversion, masculinity vs feminity and empathy vs egocentrism. Fourteen research questions and six hypotheses were formulated. The study used correlational survey design. A sample of one thousand, two hundred and four SSII adolescents was drawn from twenty-four senior secondary schools by the use of multi-stage sampling procedure. The total sample was drawn using stratified sampling technique. The instruments for data collection were Home Environment Inventory (HEI) and Comrey Personality Scales (CPS). The validity of the instruments were ascertained by test experts. The Cronbach alpha reliability method was used to determine the consistency of the HEI and CPS. The computation for the HEI yielded a reliability coeffecient of 0.81, 0.80, 0.80, 0.853 and 0.91 for each of the clusters and 0.90 for all the HEI. Alpha values obtained for each cluster of CPS were 0.72, 0.71, 0.83, 0.85, 0.81, 0.85, 0.54 and 0.66. Overall for the CPS was 0.92. Multiple regression statistics was used for data analysis. Analysis of data revealed the following major findings. Family relationships, parenting styles and Socio-Economic Status of parents significantly predict personality characterisitcs of secondary school adolescents, (t1203 = 8.00; P < 0.05 (t1203 = 4.552; P < 0.05) and (t1203 = 2.920; P < 0.05) respectively while family moral standard and family structure (type) do not significantly predict personality characteristics of secondary school adolescent (t1203 = -0.230; P > 0.05 and, (t1203 = 0.335; P > 0.05) respectively. The predictive power of home environmental factors on personality characteristics of the adolescent students is high or significant (f5, 1203 = 91.695; P < 0.05), It is recommended among others that parents are role models in the home therefore, they should not relent in their efforts to face challenges of role models, especially living examplary lives before the adolescents. This will help the adolescents exhibit positive personality characteristics even when parents are not there watching.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Learning to acquire a set of behavioural standards that enables a child to become an acceptable member of the society is an essential aspect of the socialization process. Agents of socialization such as the home and the school are primarily responsible for imparting desirable attributes and characteristics to the upcoming generation. Among all the agencies of socialization, the home exerts the first influence based on research findings (Freud, 1933; Bandura, 1977; Mallum, 2002 and Kembe, 2004). Mallum (2002) specifically observed that the home plays very important role in the child’s personality development. This is because children learn a lot from the environment particularly from their role models. Parents are role models in the home, and children model after their parents. Take for instance; in the area of respect for elders, greetings; taking responsibilities and protecting one another are usually inculcated in children in the home environment. It is observed also that in the home, the foundations of the children’s health both physical and psychological are laid (Udo and Ajala, 2004). All children need to feel affectionately secured, wanted and loved as individuals. Without such love and security particularly in early childhood, children do not only fail to flourish physically, but develop certain personality flaws, which may impede adequate psychological development (Udo and Ajala, 2004). The two authors are of the view that responsiveness of parents and other adults to the behaviour of children is related to children’s social and cognitive development.
An adolescent does not develop and grow in a vacuum, and neither is she or he immutable. The adolescent grows within an environment, which is composed of a network of forces or factors. The home is one of such environments of the adolescent. Home is not just a structure comprising houses and rooms but a social dwelling unit for family members, which is made up of father, mother, and their children. Home is a psychophysical environment, which include the psychological and physical factors that determine individual’s personality (Mallum 2004). Home is the environment where an individual is born and nurtured by his parents and other adults (care-givers) until the individual is capable of fending for own living, (Ogbeba, 2006). Home according to Ogboji (2007) is a basic unit of the society, which plays a vital role in the growth, and development of the child. Supermerp (2003) views home as a social group characterized by common residence, economic co-operation and reproduction. Functions of the home according to Supermerp include; primary socialization of children and personality stabilization. Home, according to Kpernyam (2010) is a social unit formed by a family, consisting of a husband, wife or wives and children. In this study, home is regarded as the place where the adolescents live with their family members while home environment comprised all the physical and psychological factors in the home of the adolescent.
In Nigeria, there are two types of homes; polygamous and monogamous homes. A polygamous home is a composition of the family set where one man marries two or more wives at a time. This type of family may lead to unequal treatment of children, jealousy, and unhealthy relationship between siblings and co-wives (Onyilofor 2002; Akpo, Kembe and Akpoo 2004). In a polygamous home, many children compete for limited resources at the disposal of the father who is the head of the home. A monogamous home on the other hand is a situation where a man is married to a woman at a time. The monogamous home composition is basically the father, one wife and children. The family members according to Onyilofor (2002) are usually bounded and this gives members the opportunity to have concern for one another and misunderstandings are easily settled. Onyilofor (2002) observes also that children from monogamous homes are less likely to be subjected to emotional disturbances and disharmony, which affect the children’s personality.
The home, besides determining the individual’s inherited potentials, is a major factor in accelerating or retarding all aspects of human development (Nnachi, 2000; Opara, 2004; Okoye, 2004;). The home, being the first institution to which the child is exposed, is automatically the first to teach and train the child. Schools, churches, mosques and government agencies only supplement and complement the roles of the home (Fajonyomi, 2002). Varying methods are applied during the socialization processes, which may account for differences in personality characteristics of the children. It is generally expected that the home should inculcate discipline, obedience to authority, respect for elders and respect for the law of the land, which means that the relationship that exists between family members is crucial for healthy development of every child in such a family. Family relationship influences every child raised in any type of home environment whether “positive” or “negative”, (Aba, 2004; Ogbeba, 2000, 2006). This supports a saying that goes thus “Your home is the mirror of your soul” (anonymous).
A child’s first lesson in behaviour and emotion are learned from his parents through interaction (Aba, 2004). The child begins life by learning to trust first the mother and later other persons close to him. The child can also learn to distrust people depending on the type of relationship that exists between him and those people around him. Depending on the nature of interaction that exists in the home, all future reactions of the child, according to Harris (2003) are based in part, upon earlier ones. If the child is helped at early age to explore and to make new adjustments, he becomes secure and confident.
Furthermore, Udo and Ajala (2005) assert that, if parents are mature, understand and accept their child, the child has a very good chance of developing a mature personality. However, if parents frequently reject a child or punish him unnecessarily he may grow up believing that all people will reject or punish him. The child may become uncertain and uncomfortable in relating with others as well. Tor-Anyiin (2004) observes also that, the function of inculcating the pro-social skills of altruism, empathy, sharing, cooperation and compassion are absolutely of the home. So, a child’s failure to learn to respect authority is parental failure to effectively punish misbehaviour. Kembe (2004) asserts also that development of anti-social behaviour is basically as a result of parental failure to monitor and supervise their children’s movement, and younger children perform more pro-social behaviour when parents induce them. Parents of aggressive children often reinforce them by paying attention, laughing or signaling approval when they engage in aggressive behaviours. People who are empathic and helpful to others according to Tor-Anyiin (2004) tend to have parents who modeled similar behaviour when they were young. Tor-Anyiin (2004) concludes that if homes perform their socializing roles properly, the antisocial behaviour that disrupts national stability will not surface.
Based on the literature seen so far, home environment is the pedestal on which every society is built and it is therefore fundamental to the stability or instability of the society. The world is a reflection of the various and diverse homes (Onete, Eyo and Joshua, 2009). This is why the teachers, psychologists, sociologists, counsellors and religious leaders are concerned with the undesirable behaviours, emotional and psychological problems of children which are expected to take charge of tomorrow responsibly, given the common knowledge that the “child is the father of the man”. The behavioural problems of children are learnt from home, which are manifested in fighting, disobedience, stealing, lying, truancy, bullying and other sundry maladjustments (Onete et al, 2009).
Today, there are numerous complaints from electronic and print media and even the larger society that the behaviour of a majority of adolescents who are mainly students in secondary schools is grossly below expectation. They are characterized by emotional problems and behavioural syndrome. Some adolescents indulge in disobedience, fighting, lying, stealing, physical and verbal aggression, truancy, prostitution, armed robbery, kidnapping, examination malpractice and other sundry crimes.
However, a number of home factors which could be related to adolescents’ personality development may include Family relationship, Parenting style, family moral standard, family type, Socio-Economic Status (SES) of parents.
Family relationship is day to day interactions in he home between parent-parent, parents-children and siblings-siblings. How much the home contributes to children’s personality depends on the type of relationships children have with different family members. The relationships, in turn, are influenced by the pattern of family life as well as by the attitudes and behaviour of different family members towards the children (Hurlock 1978). There are many home actors that affect family relationship and in turn, the child personality development, according to Hurlock. Among these factors are parental attitude, parenting, family size siblings relationship, social status, parent’s occupation, educational status and relatives in the home. As observed in literature, the environments people grow up, especially the home play roles in personality development. A child first begins life by learning to trust the mother during the initial bonding. The child can also learn to distrust people depending on the existing relationships in the home. This means the child develops a trust based on the interactions in the home, which is a land mark to personality development. The child solely depends on the existing relationships at home so all future actions and reactions of the child are based on earlier experiences in the home (Feldman 2000). If the child is helped at early age to explore and to make new adjustments he becomes secure and confident (Udoh and Ajala 2005).
A home broken by divorce can be more damaging to family relationship according to Hurlock (1978). Most children go through phases in adjustment to divorce or separation of parents, which pose threats to their personality development.
Family relationship in this study refers to interpersonal relationships among the family members. The relationship is categorized as parents’ attitudes towards themselves and their children, level of love and affection that exists between the family members.
Family moral standards refer to moral stands of the family members, whether the members (both parents and children) are morally “good” or “bad”. That is, if there are acts of non-conformity to the societal norms and values by the parents, children and other relatives around the household. This factor focuses on vices in the home, alcoholism, drug addiction and abuse, delinquent home and other criminal tendencies among the family members, which are typical of a home environment that can produce faulty (negative) personality characteristics in children.
