ABSTRACT

This research examined the influence of parenting style and religiosity on altruism among adolescents. The participants for the study were recruited using convenience sampling technique and they consisted of 192 males and 208 females between ages 13-20 years from three secondary schools and four tutorial centers namely: Ifed Comprehensive College, Lagos Baptist Senior Secondary School and Fitjoy Academy; Success Assured Tutorial, Santos Tutors, Bright Future Academy and Erudite Tutors. Three Instruments were used to assess the variables in this study: Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ) (Buri, 1991), Religious Commitment Inventory for adolescents (RCI-A) (Worthington, Wade, Hight, Ripley, McCullough, Berry, Schmitt, Berry, Bursley & Conner, 2012)and self-report altruism scale (Rushton, Chrisjohn, & Fekken, 1981). Survey design was used in the research. One way ANOVA, Pearson moment correlation, regression analysis and t-independent test were used to test the hypotheses. Results revealed that adolescents with authoritative parents performed better on the altruism scale than adolescents with permissive and authoritarian parents, religious commitment has a positive correlation with altruism and also there was no significant gender difference in altruism among the participants. The implication of the study, limitation and suggestion for further study were also discussed.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page                                                                                                                                i

Certification                                                                                                                            ii

Dedication                                                                                                                               iii

Acknowledgment                                                                                                                   iv
Table of Contents                                                                                                                   v

List of Tables                                                                                                                          vi

Abstract                                                                                                                                   viii                  

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of study                                                                                                  1

1.2       Statement of problem                                                                                                  5

1.3       Objectives of the study                                                                                               6

1.4       Significance of the study                                                                                            7

1.5       Scope of the study                                                                                                      7

1.6       Operational definition of variables                                                                             7

1.7       Literature review                                                                                                         8

1.7.1    Theoretical review                                                                                                      8

1.7.2    Theoretical framework                                                                                               23

1.8       Empirical review                                                                                                         24

1.9       Research questions                                                                                                     35

1.10     Research Hypotheses                                                                                                  36

CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY

2.1       Research setting                                                                                                          37

2.2       Participants                                                                                                                 37

2.3       Sampling procedure                                                                                                   38

2.4       Research design                                                                                                         38

2.5       Instruments                                                                                                                38

2.6       Procedure                                                                                                                   41

2.7       Data analysis                                                                                                               41

CHAPTER THREE: RESULTS

3.1       Introduction                                                                                                                42

3.2       Descriptive Statistics                                                                                                  42

3.3       Mean and Standard Deviations of Variables                                                             43

3.4       Hypotheses Testing                                                                                                    47

CHAPTER FOUR: DISCUSSION

Discussion                                                                                                                               51

CHAPTER FIVE

5.1       Implications of the findings                                                                                        53

5.2       Recommendations for Future Research                                                                     55

5.3       Limitations of the Study                                                                                             55

References                                                                                                                  56

Appendix 1                                                                                                                 62

Appendix 2                                                                                                                 68