EFFECTS OF TRAUMA TREATMENT MODELS ON SCHOOL BULLYING BEHAVIOUR AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN IMO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Bullying is an act of uncontrollable behaviour among secondary schools, especially in Nigeria. The study, therefore, examined the effects of trauma treatment models on bullying behaviour and academic performance of students in Imo State, Nigeria. A quasi-experimental pre-test, post-test, control group was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised 3,258 students. The
sample size consisted of 164 (89 -Males, 75-Females) Senior Secondary One students was randomly selected from Owerri Municipal, in Imo State. Four research questions and two null hypotheses were addressed. Two instruments titled: Bullying Behaviour and Tendencies to Trauma Questionnaire (BBTTQ) and Students' Academic Performance Questionnaire (SAPQ) were used to generate data for the study. The questionnaire was rated on 4-point type scale of Strongly Agree (SA) Agree (A) , Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD) respectfully. The baseline for acceptance or rejection of a statement was 2.50. The collected data were analyzed using mean and Standard Deviation for the research questions while t-test was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed the following: Accelerated and Resolution Therapy (ART), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) effectively reduced bullying behaviour among the students. Both ART and ACT significantly reduced bullying behaviour of students based on gender. Based on the result, conclusion was drawn and it was recommended, among others, that the two treatment models should be applied to reduce trauma among bullied students.