Abstract

The study investigated parenting styles (laissez-faire, autocratic) and bullying behaviour among junior secondary school students II in the Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State. Two hundred and ten students were selected from the study locale using a simple random sampling technique. A descriptive research design of the correlational type was used. A self-designed instrument measuring laissez – faire, autocratic parenting styles, and bullying behaviour was used to collect data from the study locale. The instrument was given to the expert for testing and measurement for both face and content validity. It was administered to students outside the study locale, and Cronbach Alpa yielded: Laissez-faire.065, autocratic .086 and bullying behavior.067, and judged to be good for the present study. Researchers with two class teachers assisted in the study locale administered the questionnaires to the respondents in each school and collected on the spot. Only two hundred questionnaires were filled correctly and analyzed using descriptive statistics, percentages, Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC), and multiple regression analysis. Three hypotheses were generated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. Results showed that there is significant relationship between laisses-faire parenting style and bullying behaviour among the respondents in the study locale, also, there is a significant relationship between autocratic parenting style and bullying behaviour and lastly, there is joint contribution of the independent variable (laisses – faire and autocratic parenting styles) on dependent measure (bullying behaviour). Recommendations were made, which include, among others: parents should provide direction and guidance in rational and objective ways, parents should show love and affection to their children but should maintain a balance between freedom and control.