School-Type and Gender Influence on the Efficacy of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy on Reducing Bullying Among Secondary School Students in Rivers State

Abstract

The study determined school-type and gender influence on the efficacy of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) on reducing bullying among students in senior secondary schools in Ikwerre Local Government Area in Rivers State, Nigeria. Bullying was the dependent variable while CBT was the independent variable. School-type and gender were the moderator variables. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. A sample of 45 students identified as bullies from a population of 2,368 SS2 students in Ikwerre Local Government Area using a non-probability purposive sampling technique was used. Olweus Bullying Questionnaire (OBQ) was the instrument used for the study. OBQ had its content validity estimated by the total item cumulative variance of 75.25% while its construct validity was estimated by factor loading matrixes that ranged between .45 and .88. The reliability of OBQ was established using Cronbach alpha at r=.80, p<.05 level of significance. Data collected were analyzed using independent t-test. Results of the study indicated that school-type had no influence on the efficacy of CBT on reducing bullying. This is due to the fact that the mean reduction difference of public and private school students on their bullying reduction level was not significant at 0.05 alpha level of significance, when tested with independence t-test. Gender had no influence on the efficacy of CBT on the reduction of bullying. This is due to the fact that the mean reduction difference of male and female students on their bullying reduction level was not significant when tested with independent t-test statistics. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that counsellors and psychotherapists should make use of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy in reducing students’ bullying behaviour without the fear of these variables interfering with the treatment.