WHY ARE ADOLESCENTS GETTING SO AGGRESSIVE? EXPLORING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF PARENTING STYLES, PERCEIVED STRESS, AND MEDIA EXPOSURE

Abstract

The study investigated parenting styles, perceived stress, and media exposure as predictors of adolescentaggression. Three hundred and ninety-four (394) secondary school students participated in this study in Nsukkageographical areas. A convenient sampling method was employed in selecting the participants. Four instrumentswere used in the study: the Parenting Style Inventory II (PSI II), the Perceived Stress Scale, the Content-BasedMedia Scale, and the Aggressive Behavioural Scale. Three hypotheses were developed. Data generated wereanalysed using Hierarchical Multiple Regression. The result of the study shows that only the permissive parentingstyle positively and significantly predicted aggression (β = .16, p = .021), whereas authoritative and authoritarian didnot.Moreover, the result also indicated that perceived stress positively and significantly predicted aggression (β = .31, p <.001). The result also shows that the antisocial content dimension of the media exposure positively and significantlypredicted aggression (β = .26, p < .001), whereas the prosocial content dimension did not significantly predictaggression. The implication of the study was discussed, and recommendations were made.Keywords: Aggression, Media Exposure, Parenting Style and Perceived Stress