Family Structure, Academic Performance and Self-Esteem of Adolescent Students in Bekwai Municipality

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine family structure, academic performance and self-esteem of adolescent students in Bekwai Municipality. Descriptive survey was adopted as the research design for the study. A sample of 280 adolescents from intact and single parent families were selected from a population of 1,024 JHS students for the study using stratified random sampling technique. Rosenberg’s (1965) Self-Esteem Scale was adopted to collect data on the selfesteem of respondents. Their academic performance was measured with their test scores in the four core subjects which include English Language, Mathematics, Social Studies and Integrated Science. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent samples t-test. The findings revealed that there were high levels of self-esteem for adolescent students from single parent families and their counterparts from intact families. There was no statistically significant difference in the academic performance of adolescent students from single parent families and those from intact families. Similarly, there was no statistically significant difference in the self-esteem of adolescent students from single parent families and those from intact families. The study recommended that adolescent students should be helped by their parents to maintain their high levels of selfesteem without taking their type of family structure into consideration. Also, adolescent students should be helped by their teachers to achieve their academic goals without taking their gender into consideration. Again, adolescent students should be helped by their school counsellors to maintain their perception of their self-esteem without taking their age into consideration.