Raising the self-esteem and reducing irrational beliefs of schoolchildren: The moderating and main effect study

Effect of rational emotive behavioral education on electoral violence behaviors

BACKGROUND

Research indicates that young people in Nigeria mistakenly think that participating in politics is a "do-or-die" situation. This tendency has resulted in varying political beliefs, attitudes, and behavior patterns that may be irrational. This has occasionally led to a rise in the rate of social disengagement, thuggery, and electoral violence among young people. As a result, there is a lack of psychologically based interventions addressing this issue, which puts young people's welfare at risk. In light of these findings, the study examined the impact of rational emotive behavioral education (REBE) on electoral violence among students in federal universities in Southeast Nigeria.

METHODS

A pure experimental research design was used in the study. In all, 220 undergraduate students served as study participants. This sample was collected using a multiphase sampling technique. A modified version of the electoral violence attitude scale was used as an instrument for data collection. The mean, standard deviation, and analysis of covariance were used to analyze the data gathered.

RESULTS

The findings indicated that REBE effectively changed students' perceptions of election violence. Compared with their male peers, female students experienced a greater decrease in electoral violence during the therapy period. Thus, when exposed to REBE, students' electoral violence in federal universities in Southeast Nigeria was strongly influenced by their gender.

CONCLUSION

The study concluded that the perception of students at federal universities in Southeast Nigeria about electoral violence can be effectively reduced by using REBE.

Disputing and challenging academic procrastination behaviors in students using REBT approach

BACKGROUND

Procrastination consists of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive components. It is behavioral when someone frequently delays starting or finishing a task. The cognitive aspect of procrastination involves the difference between goals and behavior. Students often postpone completing tasks that they are required to finish, which negatively impacts their academic performance. The goal of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) is to address the dysfunctional behavioral, emotional, and cognitive components of procrastination. This study was conducted based on that premise.

METHODS

The study utilized a quasi-experimental design. A sample size of 128 students from secondary schools participated using the Gpower method and were assigned to 2 groups. Academic procrastination behaviors and irrational beliefs associated with these behaviors were assessed using procrastination and irrational beliefs scales. After an initial screening, a 12-session intervention program was implemented.

RESULTS

The study found that the REBT intervention significantly reduced participants' academic procrastination behaviors. Furthermore, 3 months after the intervention, the participants' academic procrastination remained significantly lower. Participants who received REBT had lower mean academic procrastination ratings posttreatment compared to the control group.

CONCLUSION

These results indicate that rational emotive behavioral therapy effectively reduces procrastination in educational settings. Future research should focus on investigating the clinical significance of rational emotive behavioral therapy across different cultures using larger and more diverse populations. Additionally, future studies should examine the therapeutic benefits of rational emotive behavioral therapy across cultural boundaries.

Effect of cognitive behavior-aided counseling on entrepreneurial self-efficacy of students of home economics education in South-East Nigeria

BACKGROUND

Raising potential entrepreneurs to advance the economy of nations through education has been projected by scholars. On the contrary, Nigerian students lack the enthusiasm and internal force to pursue the aims enshrined in their courses of study. Rather they prefer white-cola jobs to the entrepreneurial intention of the institutions. Given this reason, we tested the effect of cognitive behavior-aided counseling on entrepreneurial self-efficacy of students of Home Economics in South-East Nigeria.

METHODS

This is a pretest and posttest with a follow-up group randomized control design. A total of 119 Home Economics Education students from Universities and Colleges of Education were measured and screened using an entrepreneurial self-efficacy scale and inclusion criteria. Data collected from the pretest, post-test, and follow-up test were statistically analyzed using repeated measures of Analysis of Variance statistical method. The effect size of the cognitive behavior-aided counseling intervention on entrepreneurial self-efficacy was reported using partial eta square. The follow-up data was tested using a Univariate analysis.

RESULTS

The result showed that cognitive behavior-aided counseling intervention had a significant effect on entrepreneurial self-efficacy among the Universities and Colleges of Education in South-East Nigeria. A follow-up result also showed that intervention had a significant effect on participants' entrepreneurial self-efficacy.

Effect of psychological intervention in cushioning work-induced stress among secondary school home economics teachers: Implications for policy and administration

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE

Work demands in the contemporary Nigerian work environment are a critical concern to many including occupational stress researchers. This informed the current study to investigate the effect of psychological intervention in cushioning teachers' stress in public secondary schools in Nigeria.

METHODS

A randomized control design was applied. The participants were 80 secondary school home economics teachers. They were randomized into 2 groups, that is, treatment and waitlisted arms. The former was designed as a 12-session cognitive behavior intervention while the latter was waitlisted and the members received theirs at the end of the study. Both group members were evaluated at the pretest, posttest, and follow-up test to understand the baseline of the problem, treatment outcome, and sustainability respectively. Perceived Stress Scale and Teacher irrational belief scale were used as test tools. Data from the 3-time tests were analyzed using multivariate statistic.

RESULTS

The main effect results showed a significant reduction in teachers' stress and irrational beliefs due to cognitive behavior intervention. The follow-up test results also indicate that the impactful benefit of cognitive behavioral intervention on job stress reduction was significantly sustained over time. Regarding the influence of gender, the result shows no significant influence of gender on teachers' job stress in schools.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that cognitive behavior intervention can decrease work-induced stress among secondary school home economics teachers. Therefore, the management of schools is enjoined to deploy the services of cognitive behavior therapists to monitor the mood and mental health of teachers.