Early Adolescents Parental Relations and Emotional Competence Among Sheik Abduselam Secondary School Students, Jigjiga, Ethiopia

Abstract

Adolescents relation with parents and their overall development has attracted and increasing research attention. And yet identification of parental relationship and adolescents’ emotional competence is relatively a new area of research. Given the role emotional competence played in healthy functioning in young adolescents over a life span., it is imperative to study and enhance our understanding of Parent–Early adolescents relationship and emotional competence with different dimensions that compose these constructs. In this context, the main objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between parent-child relationship and emotional competence. 60 Participants (30 boys and 30 girls) with average age of 15.5 were randomly selected from Sheik Abduselam Secondary school, Jigjgia, Ethiopia. Children were provided Parent-child relationship then Emotional competency scales. Analyses were conducted using descriptive statistics-mean & standard deviations and p-value of Parent-child (boys and Girls) relationship in ten dimensions, emotional competence in five dimensions and Pearson’s product moment correlations were employed to identify the association between the Parents-child relationship dimensions with Emotional competence dimensions. Result showed that significant children’s perception of their mothers as rewarding (symbolic and Object), loving, and demanding. On the other hand, children did not show any significant differences of their relation with both mothers and fathers in protecting, Object-reward and Indifferent dimensions. However, Children’s Perception of their father as Rejecting, Symbolic-Punishment and neglect have significantly different from their mothers. In relation to Emotional Competence, result found out children had average in emotional competency in all dimensions. A notable finding in this study was significance positive parent-child relationship and emotional competence. Positive and negative relationships among the eight dimensions of parent-child relationships (Neglecting, rejecting, Symbolic punishment, Protecting, Symbolic Reward, Object Reward, Loving, Indifferent) except “demanding” and “Object Punishment” significantly related with emotional competence dimensions at p<0.05 significant level in the sample were found. The results proved that statistical significance of the relationship between emotional competence and parent child relationships. Implications and suggestions for future research were discussed.