Abstract
The study investigated the relationship between parental control orientation and social skills of adolescents in Nsukka Education zone of Enugu state, Nigeria. The design of the study was a correlation survey. The population of the study comprised 4,574 in-school adolescents in Nsukka Education zone. Multi-stage sampling technique was adopted for the selection of 567 respondents. Two instruments were used for data collection: Parental Control Orientation Scale (PCOS) and Adolescents’ Social Skills Questionnaire (ASSQ). The instruments were face validated by three experts. Data collected were analyzed using Pearson product moment correlation coefficient, while the hypothesis was tested using regression analysis at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that; there is a positive relationship between parental control orientation and adolescents’ social skills. Based on the findings, it was recommended that: parents should be enlightened on the need to maintain effective control measures that could improve and sustain the in-school adolescents’ social skills; within and outside the school environment. Intervention programmes should be organized for the in-school adolescents, on how to acquire good social skills that will boost their relationship with others

Keywords
Parental Control Orientation, Adolescents, and Social Skills