EFFECTIVENESS OF EXPOSURE TO VIDEO AND AUDIO TAPED EXPERIENCES ON COUNSELLING-SEEKING BEHAVIOUR AMONG IN-SCHOOL ADOLESCENTS IN UMUAHIA NORTH, ABIA STATE.

Abstract

This study explored the effectiveness of Exposure to Video and Audio Taped Experiences on counselling-seeking behaviour of in-school adolescents in Owerri Municipal, Imo State, Nigeria. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design employing the pre-test-post-test, non-randomized control group. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The sample of the study consisted of 40 in-school adolescents who were purposively selected from a population of 620 adolescents identified as having low counselling-seeking behaviour in Umuahia North, Abia State in 2023/2024 academic session. The instrument used for data collection was a 21-item questionnaire titled Intention to Seek Counselling Services Questionnaire (ISCSQ). The instrument was validated by three experts in the field. Using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient the reliability of the instrument showed the stability of the ISCSQ as 0.86. The internal consistency of the instrument was measured using Cronbach Alpha and the result indicated an index value of 0.77 for the ISCSQ. Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The result showed that Video and Audio Taped Experiences (VATE) was effective in enhancing the level of counselling-seeking behaviour among In-school adolescents with low counselling-seeking behaviour at post-test. There were no gender differences in the in the treatment group and control at post-test period. It was thus recommended among others that Counsellors should adopt video and audio taped experiences in enhancing counselling-seeking behaviour of in-school adolescents identified with low counselling-seeking behaviour.