CHILD ABUSE AND PARENTAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND ON
PSYCHOSOCIAL ADJUSTMENT AMONG EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED
ADOLESCENTS IN MAINLAND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, LAGOS STATE
Kehinde K. Lawal (Ph.D.), Otegbola Wunmi Joyce
Department of Educational Foundations,
Faculty of Education
University of Lagos
&
Mudathir Dhikrullah Ayinde
Department of Educational Studies in Psychology,
Research Methodology, and Counseling,
University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa

Abstract
The study examined child abuse and parental socio-economic background on psychosocial
adjustment among emotionally disturbed adolescents in Mainland Local Government Area
Lagos State. To guide the study, three research hypotheses were formulated and tested. One
hundred and fifty (150) respondents (SS II students) were selected as sample and multi-stage
sampling process was employed for this study. A self-structured questionnaire titled: Child
Abuse and Parents‟ Socioeconomic Status Influence on Adolescents‟ Psychosocial
Adjustment Questionnaire (CAPSSIAPAQ) was used to collect data from the selected
respondents. The instrument had a reliability coefficient of 0.71. Independent t-test statistics
tool was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study
showed that there was a significant difference between child abuse and students‟ self-esteem
among emotionally disturbed adolescents, there was a significant difference between peer
pressure and violent behaviour among emotionally disturbed adolescents and there was a
significant difference between occupation of parents and students‟ self-esteem among
emotionally disturbed adolescents. Based on the findings of the study, the study
recommended among others that parents should not neglect and abuse their children. They
should rather ensure that they are well treated and taken care of adequately. This is because
child neglect has negative impact on social and psychological adjustment of such child. Also,
professional counsellors should continuously orientate the adolescents during group
counseling on the dangers of negative peer influence.
Keywords: Child Abuse, Emotional Disorder, Family Size, Parental Socio-Economic. Status, Psychosocial Adjustment. DOWNLOAD FULL PDF