Abstract

The study examined birth order, parenting style and peer relations as predictors of school truancy among female teenagers in Aba, Abia State, Nigeria. Following the specific objectives of the study, three hypotheses were postulated and tested. Using multistage sampling technique, a total of 582 female students whose ages ranged from 13 to 19 years with a mean of 14.78 and standard deviation of 1.46 were sampled for the study. Data were collected with three instruments including School Truancy Questionnaire (STQ), Parental Care Scale (PCS) and Index of Peer Relations Scale (IPR). A Cross-Sectional Survey Design was employed for the study. Three-Steps Hierarchical Multiple Regression was the statistical method used in data analysis on the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. Results revealed that birth order and parenting style did not significantly predict school truancy among female teenagers in Aba, while peer relations significantly predicted school truancy among female teenagers in Aba. The study recommends that peer group counselling services be constantly provided by School/Counselling Psychologists and Guidance Counsellors for all secondary school students both in government and private schools.