Parenting style and religiosity as predictors of antisocial behavior among Nigerian undergraduates

The relationship between parenting style, religiosity and antisocial behavior (ASB) was investigated in this study. Participants were 228 (120 males and 108 females) undergraduates. Participants’ age ranged from 16 to 20 years (M = 18.9 years). They responded to the ASB scale, Parental authority questionnaire and centrality of religiosity scale. The study utilized a cross-sectional design and hierarchical regression was used for data analysis. Results showed that the model of the three dimensions of parenting styles (i.e., authoritarian, authoritative and permissive) predicted ASB and accounted for additional 11.2% variance in ASB over and above the control variables. However, only authoritarian (β = 0.13, p = 0.043) and permissive (β = 0.32, p < 0.001) statistically significantly predicted ASB. Religiosity accounted for 5.8% additional variance in ASB significantly predicting ASB (β = 0.25, p < 0.001). Implications for social work among youths and counseling were discussed.