Abstract

The aim of the research was to determine the levels of cognitive holding power and the level of self-independence among secondary school students in Al-Ahsa Governorate, the significance of the correlation between the levels of cognitive holding power and self-independence and its dimensions, and the significance of the differences between the levels of cognitive holding power and self-independence and its dimensions among secondary school students according to gender and specialization. The research utilized the correlative/difference descriptive approach. The sample amounted to (434) male and female students on whom the measurement of cognitive control strength and the measurement of self-independence were applied. Self-occurrence occurred at a high level among students, and it also showed a statistically significant relationship between the levels of cognitive holding power and self-independence and its dimensions for students, except for the relationship between the first order of cognitive holding power and the dimension of self-affirmation, as well as in the relationship between the second order of control power and the dimension of non-compliance, so the correlation coefficients were not statistically significant for females. It also showed that there were statistically significant differences in the mean scores of the first rank for the cognitive holding power and the total score of the self-independence scale which is attributed to the interaction between gender and specialization, and the differences were in favor of males in the scientific and literary section, and in the presence of statistically significant differences in the average degrees of the dimension of non-compliance attributed to the interaction between gender and specialization in favor of students in the literary department.