COUNSELLORS’ ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFICACY OF RATIONAL EMOTIVE THERAPY IN HANDLING CHILD ABUSE AMONG ADOLESCENTS OF ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study was on counsellor’s assessment of the efficacy of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) in handling child abuse among adolescents of Enugu State Nigeria. Three research questions and one hypothesis guided the study. The population of the study was 232 senior secondary school counsellors in Enugu State during the 2022/2023 academic year. Census sampling technique was used and stratified according to location (urban and rural). The instrument for data collection was a researcher developed instrument made up of two clusters and consisting of 23 questions. The reliability of the instrument was obtained using split half method and data analysed using Pearson Product moment of correlation which yielded a reliability co-efficient (a) of 0.69. The questionnaire was distributed through the assistance of three briefed student counsellors. The data collected was analysed using aggregate scores for research question one, mean scores for research question two and average mean and standard deviation scores for research question three. The hypothesis was tested using -t- test for mean scores. Based on the counsellors’ assessment the findings revealed that about 21% of the adolescents in Enugu state had experienced abuse while about 78.89% of the sample size indicated no abuse. Furthermore the findings revealed that REBT had very high efficacy in handling child abuse, it also shows high efficacy among urban and rural settings. The following recommendations among others were proffered and they include encouraging counsellors to use REBT, stake holders, parents and students should be exposed to the advantages of REBT.