PARENTAL ATTACHMENT AS A CORRELATE OF PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS’ ACADEMIC AND EMOTIONAL ADJUSTMENTS IN ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

This study investigated parental attachment as a correlate of primary school pupils’ academic and emotional adjustments in Anambra State. Two research questions guided the study while two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. A correlational research design was adopted for the study.The population of the study consisted of all the 37,190 primary five pupils in the 21 LGEAs in Anambra State. The sample size comprises 400 primary five pupils using the multi-stage sampling technique. Data for this study was collected by means of structured questionnaire. The first instrument was adopted and it is titled The Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) developed by Parker, Tupling and Brown (1979) and the second instrument titled Questionnaire on Primary School Pupils’ Adjustment” (QPSPA) was developed by the researcher. The PBI has been shown to have satisfactory construct and convergent validity and to be independent of mood effects (Parker, 1983). QPSPA was validated through face and content validity. In the original study of Parker, Tupling and Brown (1979), the PBI possessed good internal consistency and re-test reliability. The three clusters of QPSPA was subjected to test of internal consistency using Cronbach Alpha method, and reliability values of 0.77, 0.78 and 0.81 were obtained. Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to answer research questions while linear regression was used to test null hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level. The findings revealed that there is a strong positive relationship between parental attachment and primary school pupils’ academic and emotional adjustment in Anambra State. Based on the findings, it was recommended amongst others that primary schools in Anambra State should actively encourage and facilitate parental involvement in their children’s education. This can include regular parent-teacher meetings, workshops on effective parenting strategies, and providing resources for parents to support their children's learning at home.