The study investigated parenting styles as predictors of in-school adolescent students’
involvement in delinquent behaviour in Edo State. It was a survey research that employed
a descriptive method. Two hundred and forty-six (246) students participated in the study.
Parenting Styles and Peer Pressure Questionnaire (PSPPQ) was used to obtain the data
for the study. The psychometric properties of the instrument were established. The
content validated was done by three experts in the field of Educational Evaluation and
Counselling Psychology. The reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach
Alpha statistics and the reliability coefficient values of .66, .68 and.63 were obtained for
parenting styles, peer pressure and delinquency scales respectively. The data were
analysed using descriptive statistics and linear regression. The findings revealed that
parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian and permissive) specifically permissive and
peer pressure significantly predict adolescent students’ involvement in delinquent
behaviour in Edo State. The findings equally revealed sex differences in the adolescents’
involvement in delinquent behaviour. Based on the findings, it was recommended among
others the need for parents to exercise some degree of monitoring on the activities of
their children and the need for school counselors to constantly organize a workshop on
the impact of antisocial behaviours on students’ overall wellbeing.

 Keywords: Parenting styles, adolescent students and delinquent behaviour

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