EFFECT OF COGNITIVE RESTRUCTURING ON SCHOOL ADJUSTMENT OF IN-SCHOOL ADOLESCENTS
ABSTRACT
This study examined effect of cognitive restructuring on school adjustment of maladjusted in-school adolescents in Anambra state. The main purpose of the study is to examine the effect of cognitive restructuring on school adjustment of maladjusted in-school adolescents in Ogidi Education Zone of Anambra State. The study reviewed relevant conceptual, theoretical and empirical literature. This research work was anchored on Rational Emotive Theory and Cognitive Appraisal Theory. Three research questions and three null hypotheses were formulated to addressed this study The study adopted a quasi-experimental design. The population of the study comprised 211 maladjusted senior secondary two (SSII) students of the 2016/2017 in the 40 public secondary schools in Ogidi Education Zone. The sample of this study consisted of 52 maladjusted SSII students sampled from the population of the study through purposive sampling technique. Two schools out of 40 with highest population of maladjusted students were selected for both experimental and control groups. The instrument that was used for data collection was School Adjustment Rating Scale (SARS). SARS consisted of two sections A and B. Section A sought information on the personal data of the respondents, whereas Section B which is on school adjustment rating scale consisted of three clusters. Cluster one elicited information on academic adjustment of the students. Cluster two elicited information on social adjustment of the students. Cluster three elicited information on emotional adjustment of the students. The instrument was subjected to face and content validity. The reliability was established using Cronbach alpha with co-efficient value of 0.77 and 0.79 for cluster one, two and three respectively. Mean scores and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses at .05 level of significance. The result of this study showed that cognitive restructuring has significant effect on school adjustment of maladjusted in-school adolescents in Anambra State. The results revealed a significant difference between the mean academic adjustment scores of maladjusted adolescent students exposed to cognitive restructuring compared to conventional counselling. The study also showed a significant difference between the mean social adjustment scores of maladjusted adolescent students exposed to cognitive restructuring compared to conventional counselling. The results showed a significant difference between the mean emotional adjustment scores of maladjusted adolescent students exposed to cognitive restructuring compared to conventional counselling. The study therefore recommended among others that in secondary schools, cognitive restructuring packages should be used to tackle maladjustment and deviant behaviours. However the use of such methods should be based on the observed maladjustment.