International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue VIII, August 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

Parents’ academic expectations and psychological distress among adolescents in private sec0ndary schools in Nairobi County, Kenya

Angelline Kalondu Kiamba, Dr. Joel Kiambi Muriithi* and Dr. Florence Githuthu*
Department of Counseling Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Social Science, The Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Kenya
*Corresponding authors

Abstract: The increase in levels of psychological distress among adolescents in secondary school in Nairobi county Kenya is alarming which created the need for this study to assess the relationship between parental academic expectations and psychological distress among adolescents in this County. Addressed objective was; to establish if parents’ academic expectations contribute to psychological distress among adolescents in private secondary school. A descriptive survey design was employed. A sample of 380 students from 28 private secondary schools was used who were sampled through simple random sampling technique. Data was collected through questionnaires from the students. This quantitative data was analyzed through descriptive (means) and inferential analysis specifically chi-square and Pearson product moment correlation using SPSS version 22 and presented using tables. The findings of the study showed that adolescents in private secondary in Nairobi County Kenya experienced academic expectations from parents. The parents’ academic expectations was not significantly influenced by age, gender and parents’ educational level. In relation to psychological distress, parents’ academic expectations had a weak positive relationship with anxiety, stress and depression symptoms. In the academic fields, outcomes of this study contributes by informing all stakeholders especially, students, parents, academic staffs and government of how parental academic expectations influence psychological distress among school going adolescents hence encouraging them to collectively come up with measures to remedy the negative effects of parental academic expectations on students’ psychological distress using these outcomes.

Key words: Adolescence, parents’ academic expectations, psychological distress, private secondary schools, academic performance, strategies

I. INTRODUCTION

Struggle for academic attainment is a challenge for everyone undertaking any kind of studies, this could even get worse for adolescents when they get entangled with their identity negotiation crisis. Adolescence is also a crucial and important stage in human development. However, in our world currently this age group which ranges between 13-19 years, seems to be subjected to a number of challenges that expose them to low psychological wellbeing. According to World Health Organization, mental health disorders account for 16 percent of the worldwide burden of injury and disease in people aged 10 to 19.