ABSTRACT

The study investigated the effect of self-control therapy and aversive training therapy and their combination on bullying behaviour among secondary school students in Abia State. To guide the study, six research questions were raised and six corresponding null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted a pretest, posttest non randomized control group quasi-experimental design with four experimental groups and gender as moderating variable. The population for the study consisted of 832 students. The sample for the study consist of 80 students, Purposive sampling technique was used to select eighty respondents as sample for the study. The subjects in the three treatment groups were exposed to six weeks of self-control therapy (SCT), aversive training therapy (ATT) and a combination of self-control therapy and aversive training therapy (SCT & ATT) and control conditions. The instruments for data collection were a researcher's structured questionnaires titled Students Bullying Behaviour Identification Checklist (SBBIC) and Bullying Diagnostic Questionnaire (BDQ). Face validity of the instruments were determined by two experts in Psychology and Counselling and one expert in Measurement and Evaluation. The reliability of the instruments were determined using Cronbach Alpha which yielded a coefficient of 0.78 and 0.72 respectively. The method of data analysis includes the use of mean and standard deviation for research questions and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) for testing of hypotheses. The findings of the study show  that all the three treatment groups were effective in the reduction of bullying behaviour, SCT and ATT is most effective than SCT treatment group while ATT is the least effective amongst the three experimental group in the reduction of bullying behaviour. It was recommended that counsellors should make use of SCT and ATT combination in the reduction of bullying behaviour. Furthermore, counsellors should make use of self-control therapy, since it was more effective than the use of aversive training therapy in the reduction of bullying behaviour amongst others. This study noted worthy implications for school counsellors, school administrators, teachers, students, other stakeholders in education sector and general public as it may significantly help counsellors by referring cases of bullying and bullies to reduce bullying and enhance proper school adjustment that promote teaching and learning and academic success for the benefit of all students.