EFFECT OF COGNITIVE RESTRUCTURING ON PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL- BEING OF MALE AND FEMALE SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN OGIDI EDUCATION ZONE

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of cognitive restructuring on psychological well-being of male and female secondary school students in Ogidi Education zone of Anambra state, Nigeria. The study was guided by two research question and two null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance. This study employed a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group, pre-test – post-test design. The population of this study was 4124 (1973 male and 2151 female) junior secondary school two (JSS II) students whereas 60 students were purposively sampled and used for the study. The instrument used was Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS). The instrument was validated by three experts. The reliability of the instrument was determined using Cronback Alpha which yielded coefficient values of 0.86 and were considered reliable for the study. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and ANCOVA. The findings revealed that; Cognitive restructuring effectively and significantly affect both male and female students’ psychological well-being in public secondary schools in Ogidi Education zone of Anambra state. The findings revealed that; exposing students on cognitive restructuring techniques is effective on both male and female student’s psychological well-being although with a slight difference in males. The findings also revealed that there were significant differences in the post-test mean score of those in the experimental group exposed to cognitive restructuring techniques. More so, cognitive restructuring has a significant effect on the psychological well-being of both male and female secondary school students. The study therefore recommended among others that the Ministry of Education should expose School Principals, Counsellors, Psychologists and form teacher to cognitive restructuring training to enable them improve student’s psychological well-being