THE INFLUENCE OF PARENT-CHILD COMMUNICATION PATTERNS ON SELF-ESTEEM AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF IN- SCHOOL ADOLESCENTS

This study investigated the influence of parent – child communication patterns on self-esteem and academic achievement of the in-school adolescents in Enugu Education zone. Three research questions and two null hypothesis (tested at p≤0.5) guided the study. The study is an ex-post facto or casual comparative researcher design. The sample for this study was made up of four hundred and eighty senior secondary class II (SSII) students in Enugu Education Zone of Enugu State. One intact class was randomly drawn from each of the ten schools that were randomly selected for the study. Three instruments, namely:- Perceived Parent – Child Communication Patterns Scale (PPCCPS), Students Self-esteem Scale (SSES),were used to elicit the parent – child communication patterns and the state of the in-school adolescents’ self-esteem. Information on the academic achievement of the students were obtained from the students’ academic results. The items in the questionnaires were validated by experts in the Faculty of Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. On the test of internal consistency, the parent – child communication patterns yielded an alpha of 0.847 for conversation (concept) orientation pattern and 0.833 for conformity (Socio) orientation pattern respectively. The students’ self-esteem scale on the other hand yielded an alpha of 0.874 which was established through cronbach alpha procedure. Mean, standard deviation and t-test of Equivalent values were used to analyze the data generated. All the null hypotheses were tested at p ≤ 0.5 level of significance. The major findings of the study includes, that;

* Conformity (socio) parent – child communication pattern is dominant in Enugu State.

* Parent – child communication patterns have significant influence on the self-esteem of the school adolescents.

Academic achievement of students is of utmost importance to parents, educators, concerned Nigerians and the government. This, of course, is because of the huge impact education has on the national and economic development of the country. Education is an investment as well as an instrument that can be used to achieve rapid scientific, social, political, technological, cultural and economic development in the country. Regrettably, however, the consensus of opinion all over the country is that academic achievement of students in Nigeria is poor (Adebule, 2004).

According to Davison Institute (2004), achievement is a measure of quality and quantity of success one has in the mastery of knowledge, skills or understanding. Achievement could also involve accomplishing whatever task or goal one sets for himself or herself. It is the attainment of a standard of excellence (Umeano, 2010).

Academic   achievement,   specifically,   has   been   described   by    O’Donnel,