THE IMPACT OF COUNSELLING AS A MEANS OF DEALING WITH MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIOURS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN AWKA SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

Abstract

The research work examined the perceived impact of counselling as a means of dealing with maladaptive behaviour in secondary schools in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State. Three research questions guided the study. Descriptive survey research design was adopted with a population 2,026 students in public secondary schools in Awka South LGA. The sample size comprised of 200 male and female students in senior secondary schools two (SS2) selected through simple random sampling technique. A 20 item questionnaire developed by the researcher titled; counselling as a means of dealing with maladaptive behaviour questionnaire (CDMBQ) with 4-point Likert rating scale was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by experts and the internal consistency of the instruments was determined using the Cronbach Alpha analysis which provided internal consistency coefficients of 0.77. Mean was used to answer the research questions. The findings revealed that there are forms of maladaptive behaviour among secondary school students. Also, there are some counselling strategies in dealing with maladaptive behaviour among secondary school students and there is a significant effectiveness of counselling in dealing with maladaptive behaviour among secondary school students. Based on the findings, it was recommended that school counsellors should utilise self-reinforcement strategies, use of behaviour shaping strategies, and cognitive behaviour therapy among others.