The Impact of Parental Neglect on the Academic Performance of Undergraduate Students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines the impact of Parental Neglect on the Academic Performance of Undergraduate Students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. The population was seven hundred and fifty-eight (758) 300-level undergraduate students of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; the sample for the study consisted of 285 students. The study adopted a correlational research design. The instruments used for data collection were the Parental Neglect Questionnaire (PNQ) and the CGPA of the students. The reliability index for PNQ was 0.74. Data were analyzed using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient to test the hypotheses. All hypotheses were tested at 0.05 alpha level of significance. Findings revealed that inverse relationship between educational parental neglect and student academic performance among Undergraduate Students of ABU Zaria, Kaduna State. The finding also revealed that a significant relationship exists between Emotional Parental neglect and students’ academic performance among undergraduate students of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that Nigerian Universities should have functional psychological testing and counseling centers to address University students whose poor academic outcome is traceable to emotional parental neglect.

1. Introduction

Academic performance is the ability of students to undertake meaningful academic activities with results or evidence to show. It is also the ability to study and remember facts. Gerda [1] defines academic performance as how well a student is doing in their academic pursuits, such as their grades, test scores, and overall achievements in school. Gerda clarified that it is a measure of a student’s knowledge, skills, and understanding of the subjects they are studying. According to Gerda Academic performance is often assessed through various means, including exams, assignments, projects, and class participation. It is an important factor in determining a student’s progress and success in their educational journey. Academic performance has to do with the degree to which undergraduate student achieve their short- or long-term educational goals. This is commonly measured through examinations or continuous assessment. Hoyle [2] argued that interest for higher education institutions is to impart knowledge and skills to those who go through them and behind all these is the idea of enhancing good academic performance. Academic performance among Undergraduate students is a complex activity that is influenced by multiple factors including personal characteristics, interests, and study habits.

However, the school plays a critical role in the experience that makes up students’ life during school periods yet the parents play ultimate roles in building the personality of the child. Parents’ essential responsibility is to see to the improvement of their children’s academic performance. According to Udida et al. [3], the student’s home background has an influence on his/her psychological, emotional, social, and economic state. Also, the family background and parental neglect of a student can affect his or her reaction to life situation and level of Academic performance. Hence whatever affects the developmental environment of the child would possibly affect his or her education or disposition to it.

Ideally higher institution is a place that should make students feel competent and successful which breeds motivation and self-confidence. For the students struggling academically, however, school is a place that only serves to reinforce their already low self-esteem. Hence such students may attempt to avoid the feelings of failure by avoiding school or getting involved in maladjusted behaviors.

Many researchers have discovered that the most important contribution to the student’s academic performance is in fact parental attitude towards the child’s educational experiences. Blair [4] stated that for schoolwork to be meaningful; it should be related to the students’ background. He stated that pupils at the primary level of education cannot do real thinking on the basis of abstractions alone. As long as words refer to an object or situation at some time present to the senses, the meaning is simple and secure. What causes the difficulty is that the high-order abstractions go further from realities or concrete experiences. Sharp in his studies confirmed that a good home does not mean that parents are cleaver and bookish, but that parents who have difficulties in reading can still provide their children with helpful stimulating backgrounds. They said that what is important is that the parents are concerned about their children’s educational development. In doing this, the parents are laying a good foundation for their children’s educational development. Munir [5], states that the extent to which students’ intellectual potentialities for success in the education process depends initially upon how parents who transmit these potentialities can provide the environmental influence to nurture it.

Cooper et al. [6] suggested that a highly competent child is one that comes from a family environment in which parents encourage the child to explore and manipulate his or her environment, have close supportive relationships, have high educational aspirations and provide assistance with the child’s school work. Parental neglect or lack of parents’ support and encouragement according to Cooper et al. [6] leads the child to scale down his or her self-expectations and mastery attempts. The outcome, they explained will be one of decreasing relative competence as the child skips behind his or her peers. It has been argued that the psychological support that parents give to their children influences their academic performance. Wilcox et al. [7] asserted that if a student is to perform well at school, an atmosphere of happiness, parental understanding, love, and psychological support are necessary in the home. This is because, the better the support and stimulation the child receives from parents, the greater the benefits for the child at school. Similarly, Educators have long suspected the lack of parental involvement in their children’s education, maybe a barrier to children’s academic performance [8, 9]. McClelland as cited in Beinstein et al. [10] indicated that students who find themselves in home environments where parents encourage hard work score high on achievement motivation tests.

Campbell and Wu (as cited in Ref. [11]) the students’ learning outcomes. In other words, the home environment and parental care play a crucial role in shaping a student’s learning experience and academic performance. The level of encouragement and expectations set by the family, as well as the educational activities provided at home, have a direct impact on a student’s ability to learn and succeed in their studies. Parental neglect is a common form of maltreatment in children, it has to do with unkempt, weak, and malnourished children cast out by their parents to fend for themselves [12]. Osonwa et al. [13] stated that previous research has demonstrated that various factors, including family dynamics, school environment, societal influences, motivation, and parenting styles, can significantly influence learning outcomes, particularly academic performance. These variables have been extensively studied in the existing literature to understand their individual and collective effects on students’ educational achievements. Parental neglect is a common form of child maltreatment. According to Krug [12], parental neglect is the failure of parents to provide for the development of the child in all spheres: health, education, emotional development, nutrition, shelter, and safe living conditions that cause or have a high probability of harming the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral, or social development. According to Sun Newspaper of 9, August 2020 More than 2 million children are neglected every year in Nigeria by their parents. Approximately 20% of these children are physically neglected, while 10% are permanently injured, and about 5000 die each year. Most of these children were under 10 years of age, and almost 50% were younger than 6 years. An estimated 250, 000 children are neglected every year, but only a tiny fraction is reported. Children neglected by their parents are likely 10–15 times more common than abuse, although abuse and neglect often occur together. Neglects are 12 times more common among children living in poverty. Okpechi [14] conducted research on child abuse and the academic attainment of students in the Central Senatorial district of Nigeria, the researcher found that about 64% and 33% of the respondents respectively agreed the fact that neglect by their parents and parental divorce were factors that led to them not doing well in school.

Zeidner [15] carried out research in Scotland on parental neglect and students’ academic performance the study revealed that of the nearly 5000,000 reported cases of parental neglect, 47% of the children developed debilitating effects such as feeling less secure in their readiness to learn and this resulted in underachievement in schools such as low GPA, and a higher rate of school absence. According to the Child Neglect Manual [16], students who experience neglect, especially before the age of two, are susceptible to long-term issues in their social, emotional, and physical well-being. These neglected individuals face an increased likelihood of developing lifelong problems in these areas. Child welfare professionals have established standardizes classifications for parental neglect, which encompass various forms such as physical neglect; medical neglect; insufficient supervision, environmental neglect, emotional neglect, and educational neglect. Research shows that individuals who suffer from parental neglect in early childhood are more likely to perform low in their academic performance [17]. Several authors have pointed out that parental neglect is the outcome of parents who were themselves neglected as children. Gelles [18] called this transmission of violence he said many children learn violent behavior from their parents and then grow up to neglect their own children. Parental neglect has been classified into various categories by Child welfare experts, but this research will focus on educational and emotional parental neglect in relation to students’ academic performance.

Educational parental neglect: Educational parental neglect is the failure of a parent or educational guardian to fulfill their responsibilities in ensuring that a child receives a formal education. This includes aspects such as attending school regularly and ensuring that any special needs or requirements of the child are met. It is important to note that the specific requirements and regulations regarding educational neglect may vary depending on state statutes and policies. Educational parental neglect includes parents permitting habitual absenteeism from their children to school by not making 70% of class attendance for each semester, and when the parent or guardian is informed of the problem he or she does not attempt to intervene. Another form of neglect in the aspect of education is when parents fail to provide their children with the necessary experiences for growth and development. This can include not sending a child to school or neglecting their education altogether. It’s important to note that educational parental neglect may vary depending on the laws and child protection policies in a particular area. For instance, leaving a young child unsupervised by their parent could be considered neglect, particularly if it puts the child in danger [19].

Emotional parental neglect: Emotional parental neglect refers to a situation where a parent fails to provide adequate emotional support, nurturing, and affection to their child. It can be challenging to identify compared to other forms of neglect, but it is believed to have more severe and long-lasting consequences than physical neglect. Emotional neglect often occurs alongside other forms of neglect or abuse by the parent, which may be more easily identifiable and may include persistent inattention to the child’s needs for affection, emotional support, and academic performance. The child may feel unloved, and unsupported, and may struggle with emotional regulation and social interactions [20]. Emotional neglect can take various forms, and one of them is exposure to chronic or extreme spouse abuse or domestic violence. This type of neglect occurs when a person, usually a spouse or partner, consistently experiences abusive behavior from their significant other. This can include physical, verbal, or emotional abuse. Exposure to chronic or extreme spouse abuse can have severe emotional and psychological consequences for the individual experiencing it. It can lead to feelings of fear, helplessness, and low self-esteem. It may also result in symptoms of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Another form of emotional neglect is when a parent permits or encourages drug or alcohol abuse by their child. Additionally, emotional neglect is when a parent permits or encourages other maladaptive behavior, such as chronic delinquency or assault, despite being aware of the seriousness of the problem but failing to intervene. Isolation is also a form of emotional neglect, where a child is denied the opportunity to interact or communicate with peers or adults both inside and outside the home. Emotional neglect is a situation where parents or guardians do not provide sufficient nurturing or affection to their child. This results in an environment where the child does not feel secure, loved, wanted, worthy, or valued [12]. Parental Emotional neglect involves the failure of the parent to provide an environment that is supportive and appropriate for the proper academic adjustment of students [12]. Parental Emotional neglect involves parents failing to create a supportive and suitable environment for the child’s academic development. In the case of Habiba, a three-year-old girl, her parents work long hours and she spends most of her weekdays in childcare. On weekends, her parents give her an iPad to keep her occupied, but they are too busy to engage with her directly. This lack of direct interaction and emotional support can be considered emotional neglect (Action for Children 2014). It is against this background that this study was undertaken to investigate the impact of Parental Neglect on the Academic Performance of Undergraduate Students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.

2. Purpose of the study

The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of Parental Neglect on the Academic Performance of Undergraduate Students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study aims to:

1. Examine the influence of Educational parental neglect on students’ academic performance Undergraduate Students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.

2. To investigate the influence of child Emotional parental neglect on students’ academic performance of Undergraduate Students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.

2.1 Null hypotheses

Ho₁: There is no significant relationship between Educational parental neglect on students’ academic performance of Undergraduate Students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.

Ho₂: There is no significant relationship between Emotional parental neglect students’ academic performance of Undergraduate Students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.

3. Methodology

3.1 Research design

This research employs a correlational design. This study established the relationship among variables of Educational parental neglect and Emotional parental neglect on students’ academic performance of Undergraduate Students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.

The total number that constituted the population for the study was seven hundred and fifty-eight undergraduate students (758) from 300 L. Four Faculties including Education, Art, Life Science, and Physical Sciences constituted the population for the study and in each Faculty, only one Department was considered.

A simple random sampling technique was used to select four faculties as well as four Departments for the study using the balloting method. According to Abdullahi et al. [21], simple random sampling is a technique used in statistics to select a subset of individuals from a larger population. The key characteristic of this method is that each member of the population has an equal probability of being chosen. It helps to ensure that the sample is representative of the entire population, making it useful for drawing conclusions and making inferences about the study area. While purposive sampling technique was used to target 300-level students. This was because the purposive sampling technique is characterized by the use of judgment and deliberate effort to obtain representative samples (James 1997). The selected Departments have a total number of seven hundred and fifty-eight undergraduate students (758) students. A total of 5% of questionnaires were added to represent research mortality. Using Research Advisors [22] table for determining sample size from a given population at 5% two hundred and forty-eight (248) respondents were used for this study.

Two main instruments were used to collect data for this study. The instrument was the Parental Neglect Questionnaire (PNQ). The instrument comprised three sections. Section A, Biographic Data of the Students, Section B, comprised items on emotional parental neglect, and Section C, academic parental neglect. The second instrument was the CGPA of students which was used to measure their academic performance. The Parental Neglect Questionnaire (PNQ) was developed by the researcher after an extensive review of the literature. The parental Neglect Scale had a Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of 0.74, The instruments were found valid and reliable for this type of research.

3.2 Procedure

The research instruments were personally administered by the researcher. The researcher introduced himself and the research assistant to the respondents in their lecture halls and classes, and told them the purpose of his coming, and ensured them absolute confidentiality of the information they gave, as it was going to be used solely for the purpose of research work. The researcher and his research assistant, with whom he got acquainted with the content of the instruments and also trained on procedures involved in both administration and collection of items, administered the instruments developed for this study (Parental Neglect Questionnaire (PNQ). After filling the items by respondents, the researcher collected the items for analysis.

3.3 Statistical analysis

The researcher makes use of the program IBM SPSS Statistics Version 21 for data analysis. Appropriate statistical techniques of the Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) coefficient were deployed to test the two hypotheses. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05, alpha level of significance.

4. Results

It was hypothesized that there is no significant relationship between Educational parental neglect and students academic performance of Undergraduate Students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. The results of the analyzed data are presented in Table 1.

Variables	N	Mean	Std. dev	df	R	P
Educational parental neglect	285	4.007018	0.266735
				283	−0.811	0.020
Students’ academic adjustment	285	2.631754	0.314973

Table 1.

Presented result of Pearson product moment correlation analysis on educational parental neglect and students’ academic performance of undergraduate students at ABU Zaria, Kaduna state, Nigeria.

The information in Table 1 reveals a significant inverse relationship between educational parental neglect and student academic performance of Undergraduate Students at ABU Zaria, Kaduna State (r = −0.811, df = 283, p < 0.020). This result reveals that the higher the educational parental neglect, the lower the students’ academic performance and vice versa. Therefore, the null hypothesis which postulates that there is no significant relationship between Educational parental neglect and students’ academic performance of Undergraduate Students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria is rejected.

A second null hypothesis formulated for the study was, that there is no significant relationship between Emotional parental neglect and students’ academic performance of Undergraduate Students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. The outcomes of the analyzed data are presented in Table 2.

Variables	N	Mean	Std. dev	df	R	P
Emotional parental neglect	285	3.931228	0.254620
				283	0.282	0.032
Academic performance	285	2.631754	0.314973

Table 2.

Result of Pearson product moment correlation analysis between emotional parental neglect and students’ academic performance of undergraduate students at ABU Zaria, Kaduna state.

The result of the table above showed that a significant relationship exists between Emotional Parental neglect and students’ academic performance of undergraduate students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (r = 0.282, p = 0.032). This indicates that the more the higher the level of Emotional Parental neglect, the lower their academic achievement and vice versa. Therefore, the null hypothesis which states that there is no significant relationship between emotional parental neglect and students’ academic performance of undergraduate students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria is rejected.

5. Discussion of findings

This study focused on the impact of Parental Neglect on the Academic Performance of Undergraduate Students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.

Hypothesis one: The findings from hypothesis one revealed a significant inverse relationship between educational parental neglect and student academic performance of undergraduate students at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. The findings are in line with that of Zeidner [15] carried out research in Scotland on parental neglect and students’ academic performance the study revealed that of the nearly 5000,000 reported cases of parental neglect, 47% of the children developed debilitating effects such as feeling less secure in their readiness to learn and this resulted in underachievement in schools such as low GPA, and a higher rate of school absence. The finding corroborates the explanation of Wilcox et al. [7] who stated that lack of parental involvement in their children’s education, maybe a barrier to children’s academic performance. The reason for the above result is that undergraduate students who are neglected educationally by their parent tend to display anti-social behavior in school which affect their academic performance and seems not to catch up with any educational activities due to a lack of concern for their parent and caregivers.

Hypothesis two: The findings from hypothesis two revealed that a significant relationship exists between Emotional Parental neglect and students’ academic performance of undergraduate students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The finding agrees with the explanation of Krug [12] who states that Emotional neglect involves the failure of the caregiver to provide an environment that is supportive and appropriate for the proper academic performance of students. The finding is in line with the study of Okpechi [14] who conducted research on child abuse and the academic attainment of students in the Central Senatorial district of Nigeria, the researcher found that about 64% and 33% of the respondents respectively agreed to the fact that neglect by their parents and parental divorce were factors that led to them not doing well in school. What could have accounted for this finding is that undergraduate students who are neglected emotionally do not get the adequate amount of love and care that is required of them by their parents and caregivers to perform better in their academic performance.

6. Conclusion

The study has provided evidence to show that there is a significant inverse relationship between educational parental neglect on student academic performance of undergraduate students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. This is in line with the position of Zeidner [15] carried out research in Scotland on parental neglect and students’ academic performance the study revealed that of the nearly 5000,000 reported cases of parental neglect, 47% of the children developed debilitating effects such as feeling less secure in their readiness to learn and this resulted in underachievement in schools such as low GPA, and a higher rate of school absence. According to the Child Neglect Manual [16], students who experience neglect, especially before the age of two, are susceptible to long-term issues in their social, emotional, physical, and educational well-being. These neglected individuals face an increased likelihood of developing lifelong problems in these areas. Child welfare professionals have established standardized classifications for parental neglect, which encompass various forms such as physical neglect; medical neglect; insufficient supervision, environmental neglect, emotional neglect, and educational neglect it is therefore the responsibility of parents to get acquitted with the information in order to shun parental neglect which, will in turn enhance undergraduate students academic performance in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. In line with the result of is study by Cooper et al. [6], they reveal that Parental neglect or lack of parents’ support and encouragement leads undergraduate students to scale down in his or her self-expectations and mastery attempts. The outcome, they explained will be one of the decreasing relative competence as the undergraduate student skips behind his or her peers. The finding of this study has confirmed the assertion that the psychological support that parents give to their children influences their academic performance. Also, undergraduate students who enjoy parental support regarding their academic activities are more likely to concentrate on their studies in order to perform well academically than those students who are victims of educational parental neglect. It is concluded that the actions and reactions of teachers and parents toward undergraduate students should be such that will encourage, suggest, assure, and reinforce students to study hard in order to improve their academic performance. These words of encouragement will act as a motivational force on undergraduate students’ academic performance than parental neglect.

The study also showed that a significant relationship exists between emotional parental neglect and students’ academic performance in the study area. Emotional parental neglect was found to have correlations with undergraduate students’ academic performance in the study area. This study reveals that parental emotional neglect negatively affects undergraduates students’ academic performance. Therefore, there is a need for parents to support their young adults in their academic pursuits in order to enhance students’ educational success. This finding corroborates with the study of Krug [12] who carry out a comprehensive search using various academic databases such as Google Scholar, JSTOR, and PubMed, the finding reveals that undergraduate students emotional parental neglect can lead to reduced motivation among undergraduate students at ABU. The lack of emotional support and encouragement from parents contributes to diminished enthusiasm towards academic pursuits and lower levels of engagement. This study reveals the negative impact of emotional parental neglect on students’ psychological well-being and subsequent academic performance. The experience of emotional neglect can result in increased stress levels, anxiety, and depression, which in turn hamper cognitive functioning and hinder undergraduate students’ academic success in the study area. This implies that high Undergraduate students’ academic performance can only strive in an environment where parents display emotional support and concern for their children’s academic activities. Therefore, parents should get involved in the academic activities of their young adults by providing them with the basic necessities that will aid their academic performance and also create time to discuss academic needs, personal needs, and social needs that will improve their academic performance rather than emotional neglect. The findings highlight the need for educational institutions, parents, and support systems to prioritize emotional and educational well-being and provide interventions that address emotional and academic neglect to enhance students’ academic outcomes. Future research should focus on developing targeted strategies and resources to support students who have experienced educational and emotional parental neglect and promote their academic resilience at ABU Zaria and other similar educational settings in Nigeria.

7. Recommendations

Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations were made by the researcher;

1. Nigerian University should have functional psychological testing and counseling centers towards addressing University students whose poor academic outcome is traceable to emotional parental neglect.

2. School psychologists and counselors should organize a seminar for parents to create awareness of the negative impact of educational parental neglect on their ward’s academic performance.