ABSTRACT
This study explored the effects of cognitive restructuring and assertiveness training on self-esteem and self-efficacy of secondary school adolescent students with deviant behaviour. Six research questions and six hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 levels of significance.Quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group design involving a pretest and posttest was used for the study. The sample comprised 48 (27 males and 21 females) senior secondary school class 2 (SS2) adolescent students with deviant behaviour in Onitsha Education Zone of Anambra State, Nigeria. Four schools with the highest number of adolescent students with deviant behaviour were purposively drawn. In each school, one intact class was randomly selected and the intact classes were also randomly assigned to experimental and control conditions. Three instruments namely: Deviant Behaviour Identification Scale (DBIS), Students with Deviant Behaviour Self-Esteem Scale (SDBSES) and Students with Deviant Behaviour Self-Efficacy Scale (SDBSEFS) and one training programme namely: Cognitive Restructuring and Assertiveness Training Programme (CRATP)were developed, validated and used for the study.The internal consistency of the instruments was determined using Cronbach Alpha method which gave0.82,0.80 and 0.74 for DBIS, SDBSES andSDBSEFS respectively; while the stability of the instruments was determined using Pearson’s Moment Product Correlation Coefficient and reliability indices of 0.83, 0.87 and 0.87 were obtained for DBIS, SDBSES andSDBSEFS respectively. Deviant Behaviour Identification Scale was used to identify adolescents with deviant behaviour while Students with Deviant Behaviour Self-Esteem Scale (SDBSES) and Students with Deviant Behaviour Self-Efficacy Scale (SDBSEFS) were used to ascertain the self-esteem and self-efficacy level respectively of the adolescents with deviant behaviour at pretest and posttest. Cognitive restructuring and assertiveness training programme was used for the experimental group while the control group received conventional counselling. The data obtained were analyzed using mean scores, standard deviation and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) which revealed the following findings:Cognitive restructuring and assertiveness trainingsignificantly enhanced self-esteem (28.56 + 3.38)and self-efficacy (28.07 + 5.64) of secondary school adolescents with deviant behaviour (P > 0.05). Gender has no significant influence on the self-esteem and self-efficacy of secondary school adolescents with deviant behaviour (P > 0.05).There is no significant interaction effect of treatment using cognitive restructuring and assertiveness training and gender on mean self-esteem scores (F = .528, P ˃ 0.05) and mean self-efficacy score (F = .141, P ˃ 0.05) of adolescent secondary school students with deviant behaviour. A major educational implication of the findings was that adolescents with deviant behaviour could be empowered with cognitive restructuring and assertiveness training skills for enhancement of their self-esteem and self-efficacy. It was thus recommended that emphasis should be given to equipping students with the relevant skills in using cognitive restructuring and assertiveness training. Teacher preparation institutions should incorporate cognitive restructuring and assertiveness training skills in the relevant areas of the curriculum units and expose both the pre-service and in-service teachers to this behaviour modification technique.
