EMOTIONAL MATURITY AS PREDICTOR OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AMONG STUDENTS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

This study examined emotional maturity as predictor of psychological well-being of students in public secondary schools in Anambra State. Two research questions and two null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance guided the study. The study adopted correlational research design. The population of the study comprised 20,560 SS2 students in public secondary schools in Anambra State. The sample size for the study was 1,028 SS2 students drawn from the population of the study. The instruments for data collection were Emotional Maturity Scale (EMS) and Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS). The instruments were validated by three experts from Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University. The construct validity was ascertained using Principle Component Analysis Approach. The reliability of the instruments were determined using Cronbach Alpha Coefficient method which gave coefficient values of 0.80 for EMS and 0.81 for SPWBS. Simple linear regression analysis was used for data analysis. The study revealed that emotional maturity (r = 0.806; p < 0.000) and emotional maturity on male and female students (r = 0.864; p < 0.000) have positive and significant predictive values on psychological well-being among students in public secondary school in Anambra State. The study concluded that emotional maturity positively and significantly predict psychological well-being among students in public secondary school in Anambra State. The study recommended that school administrators should incorporate gender-inclusive emotional education programmes into their curriculum to support the emotional growth and psychological well-being of all students.