ABSTRACT
This study examined the effect of Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT) and Time Management Skills (TMS) on the reduction of academic stress among undergraduate students in Rivers State. Seven research questions and seven corresponding null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance guided the study. The study adopted quasi-experimental research design employing non randomized pretest, posttest control group design. The population consists of all two hundred level undergraduate students of 2017/2018 academic session in the three Universities in the state numbering 1,250 students with high academic stress. The Sample size was thirty two (32) two hundred level undergraduate students with high academic stress. Simple random sampling technique was employed to select one university from the three universities in Rivers State. Purposive sampling was applied to select one faculty from the sampled university. Instrument for data collection was a questionnaire titled “Student Academic Stress Indices” (SASI) developed by the researcher. The instrument had a reliability coefficient index of 0.85 which is considered suitable for the study. Three treatment groups and one control group were formed. Treatment groups were exposed to REBT, TMS and a combination of REBT and TMS. Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation for the research questions; t-test and ANOVA for the null hypotheses. The results revealed that REBT treatment had greater effect in reducing academic stress than the control at posttest. The finding also revealed that the combined treatment group produced significantly better results than the other single interventions. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that students with high academic stress should be exposed to a combination of REBT and TMS for better result. The study concludes that REBT and TMS is effective in reducing academic stress among undergraduate students in Rivers state.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Title Page
i
Declaration
ii
Certification
iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements
v
Table of Contents
vi
List of Tables
ix
List of Figures xi
Abstract
xii
CHAPTER
1: INTRODUCTION
1
1.1
Background of the Study 1
1.2
Statement of the Problem
11
1.3
Purpose of the Study 12
1.4
Significance of the Study
13
1.5
Research Questions 14
1.6
Hypotheses 15
1.7
Scope of the Study
16
CHAPTER
2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 17
2.1 Conceptual Framework 17
2.1.1 Concept of stress
17
2.1.2 Concept of academic stress 19
2.1.3 Concept of undergraduate
students
21
2.1.4 Concept of Rational Emotive
Behaviour Therapy 22
2.1.5 Concept of time management
skill 24
2.1.6 Gender 26
2.2 Theoretical framework 28
2.2.1 The general adaptation syndrome
theory of stress 28
2.2.2 Process
orientation theory of stress
29
2.2.3 Rational emotive behaviour
theory 30
2.2.4 Pickle jar theory of time
management 32
2.3 Review of empirical studies 33
2.3.1 Summary of literature review 46
CHAPTER
3: METHODOLOGY 48
3.1 Design of the study 48
3.2 Area of the study 49
3.3 Population of the Study 50
3.4 Sample and sampling techniques 50
3.5 Instrument for data collection 52
3.6 Validation of instrument 52
3.7 Reliability of the instrument
53
3.8 Method of data collection 53
3.9 Method of data analysis
67
3.10 Control of extraneous
variables 67
CHAPTER
4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
69
4.1 Result presentation 69
4.2 Discussion of findings
78
CHAPTER
5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
84
5.1 Summary
84
5.2 Conclusion
85
5.3 Educations implications of the
study
86
5.4 Recommendations
87
5.5 Limitations
87
5.6 Suggestions for further study 88
REFERENCES
89
APPENDICES 100
Appendix
1:
Letter of introduction 100
Appendix
11: Questionnaire 101
Appendix
111: Statistical analysis 104
LIST OF TABLES
3.1:
REBT treatment plan. 58
3.2: Time Management Skills treatment
plan. 63
3.3: REBT/TMS combined treatment plan 64
3.4: Meeting schedule. 66
4.1: Mean
and standard deviation on the reduction of academic stress between
those in REBT and control at posttest. 69
4.2:
t-test analysis of mean difference in the reduction of academic stress
between those in REBT treatment group and control group at posttest. 70
4.3: Mean and standard deviation on the
reduction of academic stress between
those in TMS and
control at posttest. 70
4.4: t-test analysis of mean difference
in the reduction of academic stress between
those in TMS treatment group and control group at posttest. 71
4.5:
Mean and standard deviation on reduction of academic stress between
those in REBT/TMS
combined and control at posttest.
71
4.6:
t test analysis of mean difference in the reduction of academic
stress between those in REBT/TMS combined treatment group and
control group at posttest. 72
4.7:
Mean and standard deviation on the effect of the three treatment
packages in the reduction of academic stress among undergraduates
students based on gender at posttest. 72
4.8:
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the three treatment packages
in the reduction of academic stress among undergraduate students
based on gender at posttest. 73
4.9: Mean and standard deviation on the
reduction of academic
stress between
those in REBT and TMS at posttest. 74
4.10:
t test analysis of mean difference in the reduction of
academic stress between those in REBT treatment group
and TMS group at posttest. 74
4.11: Mean and standard deviation of
retention of treatment
effect in the reduction of academic stress between those
in REBT and control at follow-up. 75
4.12:
t test analysis of mean difference of retention of treatment
effect in the reduction of academic stress between those
in REBT treatment group and control group at
follow-up. 75
4:13: Mean and standard deviation of
retention of treatment
effect in the reduction of academic stress between those
in TMS and control at follow-up. 76
4.14:
t test analysis of mean difference of retention of treatment
effect in the reduction of academic stress between those in
TMS treatment group and control group at follow-up. 77
LIST
OF FIGURES
2.1 Process of stress
29
3.1 4x2 Factorial Matrix
48
3.2 Sample Distribution 51
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Stress
has gradually become a house hold name globally. It has become a major
challenge among people in different professions and occupations with life
threatening manifestations such as anxiety, depression and burnout. Bernstein
(2010) posited that in life it is very common to hear about death and taxes in
first and second positions, and stress in the third position of human problems.
According to Geridano (2012), stress has become part of life, such that no
matter how wealthy, powerful, attractive, or happy people may be, they are not
exonerated from experiencing stress. Stress manifests in different forms
depending on the situation one finds himself. The adverse effect of stress has
made people from all works of life to give attention to any seminar, workshop
or conferences that is designed to educate the general public on stress management.
Passer and Smith (2011) stated that many researchers view stress as a major
cause of death globally. This is true because even those who are on life
support or suffering from terminal illnesses are usually strictly warned to
keep off from anything that will expose them to stress.
Many
scholars in the field of behavioural science have carried out extensive
research on stress and its outcomes and concluded that the topic needed more
attention (Agolla, 2009). Amadi (2007) defined
stress as a state of psychological tension produced by some forms of forces or
pressure imposed on a person. It is a condition of strain on somebody’s
emotion, thought process and physical condition that threatens the individual’s
ability to cope with the environment. This view agrees with the assertion by
Ngoka (2000) that stress comes when an environmental situation is perceived to
be posing a demand which proves that the person’s potentials and resources to
cope are insufficient. Auerbach and Grambline (2009) regard stress as an
unpleasant state of emotional and physiological arousal that individuals
experience in situations that they perceive as dangerous or threatening to
their well-being.
The potential causes of stress are
numerous and hinges highly on individual differences (Irvine & Warber,
2013). What one considers stressful depends on many factors, including ones
personality (general outlook on life, problem-solving abilities and social
support system). Something that is stressful to one person may not faze someone
else, or another may even enjoy it. The pressures and demands that cause stress
are known as stressors. We
usually think of stressors as being negative, such as a long period of lectures
or an exhausting work schedule or a rocky relationship. Anything that forces us
to adjust can be a stressor (Irvine & Warber, 2013). This includes positive
events such as getting married or receiving a promotion. Regardless of whether
an event is good or bad, if the adjustment it requires strains one’s coping
skills and adaptive resources, the end result is stress.
There are several other factors that could
trigger stress. Smith (2016) viewed general causes of stress in terms of
environmental, family and relationship, work and social stressors. Examples of
environmental stressors include an unsafe neighborhood, pollution, noise and
uncomfortable living conditions. For people living in crime-ridden areas or
war-torn regions, the stress may be unrelenting (Amadi, 2007). Family and
relationship stressors include problems with friends, quixotic partners and
family members. Marital disagreements, dysfunctional relationships, rebellious
teens, or caring for a chronically-ill family member or a child with special needs
can all send stress levels skyrocketing. On work related stressors, Smith
(2016) stated that work can be an ever-present source of stress.
Smith (2016) opined that work related
stress is caused by things such as job dissatisfaction, an exhausting workload,
insufficient pay, office politics, and conflicts with your boss or co-workers.
Examples of social stressors include poverty, financial pressures, racial and
sexual discrimination or harassment, unemployment, isolation and lack of social
support. All these take a toll on daily quality of life and may escalate the
imminence of stress (Smith, 2016). On the other hand, Wright (2014) focused
more on internal causes of stress and state that not all stress is caused by
external pressures and demands. Stress can also be self-generated. Internal
causes of stress include uncertainty or worries, pessimistic attitude,
self-criticism, unrealistic expectations or beliefs, perfectionism, low
self-esteem, excessive or unexpressed anger and lack of assertiveness (Wright,
2014). Most stress related sicknesses have been linked more to self-generated
stress than the external stress (Agolla, 2009).
Effect of stress
cannot be undermined as recent research suggests that 40 to 60 percent of
illness is stress-related (Woolfork, 2017). Welsley
(2011) postulate that the physical wear and tear of stress damage the
cardiovascular and immune systems thus affect all
aspects of our life, including emotions, behaviour, thinking ability and
physical health. Stress that continues without relief can lead to a
condition called distress, which is a negative stress reaction. According to Welsley (2011), distress, which is advanced stress
can lead to physical problems including headaches, stomach upset, elevated blood pressure, chest pain and
trouble sleeping. Research by World Health Organization (2015) suggests that
stress can also bring or worsen certain symptoms and diseases. Stress also
becomes harmful when people turn to alcohol, tobacco, or drugs to try to
relieve their stress. Unfortunately, instead of relieving the stress and
returning the body to a relaxed state, these substances tend to keep the body
in a stressed state and cause more problems.
Stress could have
both emotional and physical effects. Emotional
effects such as becoming easily agitated, frustrated and moody, feeling
overwhelmed like you are losing control, difficulty in relaxing and quieting
the mind; feeling bad about yourself (low self-esteem), lonely, worthless,
and depressed.
according to Gaston (2013), physical effects include Low
energy, headaches, upset stomach, including diarrhea, constipation
and nausea; aches, pains and tense muscles, chest pain and rapid heartbeat,
insomnia,
frequent infections, loss of sexual desire or ability, nervousness and shaking, cold or
sweaty hands and feet,
dry mouth and
difficulty swallowing
things.
Several
ways to reduce the effects of stress as identified by Mayo, Fortune, Albert, Peterson, Brown and Dowell
(2016) include relaxation, exercise, good sleep, balanced diet and others. These are
natural techniques that help to ameliorate the effects of stress. Relaxation
technique also known as relaxation
training is any method, process, procedure, or activity that helps a
person to relax; to attain a state of increased calmness; or otherwise reduce levels of pain, anxiety, stress or anger. Relaxation technique when applied can decrease muscle
tension, lower the blood pressure and slow heart and breathe rates. Mayo
et al (2016) also revealed that
exercise is another way stress can be reduced naturally. For instance, regular
but brief exercise is a helpful therapy in handling stress. A short walk around
the office or simply standing up to stretch during a break at work can offer
immediate relief in a stressful situation. Getting our blood moving releases
endorphins and can improve our mood almost instantaneously. Good sleep helps the brain and body recuperate after the
days’ business. WHO (2015) recommended seven to eight hours of sleep which can
be achieved by turning the TV off earlier and diming the lights before going to
bed. On proper diet, Mayo, et al
(2016) stipulates that stress levels and a proper diet are closely related.
Eating well cooked food and avoiding sugary, fatty snack foods helps to keep
the body fit and ready to protect the body from attack. Fruits and vegetables
are always good, and fish with high levels of omega-3 fatty acids have been
shown to reduce the symptoms of stress (Mayo et al, 2016). Stress is not limited to people in certain profession
but extends to people in all walks of life including students in the higher
institutions.
In the last few
decades, academic stress among university students has become a topic of
interest for researchers. Ickes,
Brown, Reeves and Martin (2015) assert that the
latest American College Health Association (ACHA, 2014) report indicates that approximately half of undergraduate students in the third world countries are
experiencing stress arising from academic demands and poor learning
environment. According to Sarita and
Sonia (2015), academic stress refers to the unpleasant psychological
situations that occur due to the educational expectations from parents,
teachers, peers and family members, pressure from parents for academic
achievement, present educational and examination system and burden of homework.
Academic stress is emotional pressure on the student arising from his or her
inability to cope with the demands of studies. It is a common problem among
students which may manifest with anxiety, sleeplessness, hyper-ventilation,
hostile behaviour and inability to read and assimilate. In extreme cases, it
could result in mental breakdown (Ekechukwu, 2009).
Campbell and Stevenson (2009) stated
that during the first year at the university, undergraduate students seem to
have difficulties in assimilating a vast amount of academic material in a short
period of time. Shirom (2017) argued that the first exposure of the
undergraduate students to the academic studies and to the highly university
administrative procedure can also cause stress because of the necessary
adjustment to their social environment. Some undergraduate students are often
stressed because of considerable difficulty when trying to adjust to the
university social network (Shirom, 2017). Campbell and Svenson (2009) went
further to claim that regardless of years of schooling or gender, undergraduate
students face a lot of pressure with regard to financial difficulties,
excessive class workload, new responsibilities, change in various kinds of
habits and time management.
Several other factors identified by
researchers as being responsible for academic stress among undergraduate
students include low self-efficacy, procrastination, social pressure, locus of
control of the undergraduate students and test anxiety (Ugwueze, 2017;
Ekechukwu, 2009). Researchers have always assumed that low self-efficacy and
its link with low productivity could initiate academic stress among
undergraduate students (Zajacova & Espenshade, 2015). Self-efficacy is ones belief in the
likelihood of goal completion and this can be motivating in itself (Bong,
2016). It is people's judgments about their capability to perform particular
tasks. Self-efficacy beliefs are important aspects of human motivation and
behaviour that influence actions that can affect one's life (Kumari & Radhakanta, 2012). For example, task-related self-efficacy increases the
effort and persistence of individuals towards challenging tasks and thereby
increases the likelihood that they will be completed. According to McClelland (2015),
self-efficacy is the belief in one's capabilities to organize and execute the
courses of action required to manage prospective situations. Students with strong belief in their
abilities tend to be more positive about their learning and appear to be
receptive to new instructional practices (Friedman and Gusky, 2008; Haggins,
2013). This means that these undergraduates can reduce their academic
stress through strong and positive belief in their capability for their
academic pursuit which is the hallmark of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy
(REBT). Another factor that triggers academic stress is procrastination
(Ugwueze, 2017).
Procrastination
is the act of putting off for tomorrow what should be done today. According to
Rozental and Carlbring (2013), it is the habit of delaying or postponing what
you ought to do or ought to have done till another time without any justifiable
reason. Procrastination is the delaying of engagement which an individual
originally planned to do not minding that it will be problematic when it is
postponed (Beswick and Mann, 2003). It is important to note that
procrastination has different connotation from delay as delay may have rational
reasons for putting-off something as opposed to procrastination. Chow (2011)
stated that most times academic procrastination manifests as a thoughtful act
of delaying a planned academic task not minding its bad effects.
Procrastination generally steals time (Steel, 2007; Steel, 2011). A student who
has test on Friday may choose to play from Monday to Friday believing he has a
lot of time on his hands to prepare for the test. This whole uncoordinated
action mounts pressure on the student which will likely result to academic
stress.
Social pressure
has also been fingered as being responsible for academic stress. Social
pressure is synonymous with peer pressure. The word peer means your age mates
or classmates and pressure refers to the influence your classmates have over
you in making you do something. It is the pressure you feel on the account of
wanting to be like your mates. Partying and gallivanting are forms of social
behaviours that students learnt because of pressure from their friends
especially those who are not serious with academic activities (Ekechukwu,
2009). The quest to meet up with the academic demands after wasting the time
that should have been used to study and prepare for tests and examinations on
merriment and grooving pose a big challenge which could result to academic
stress. It is common these days to see students in eateries and joints enjoying
themselves and discussing matters that are not connected with the very reason
why they left their homes to the university. These acts lead to pilling up of
uncompleted assignments, lateness to lectures and sometimes total absence.
The burden of
academic stress obviously has negative effect on students. Busari (2011)
observed that when students are stressed academically, they will begin to
experience irritability because of lack of sleep, lack of concentration,
unexplained fears and anxiety. Through academic stress, students may also
develop poor appetite and low immunity. Rizzolo (2015) asserts that academic
stress accounts for over 40% of academic underperformance among students in
sub-Sahara regions. Constant stomach upset and headaches among students have
been traced to prolong academic stress (Mayo et al, 2016). Academic stress shares the same effect with the
general stress. Insomnia, heart palpitation, muscle whack, are all effects of
stress whether academic or work related stress. The height of effect of stress
is heart attack which leads to death, and this has been experienced greatly
among students (Feng, 2009). The current study adopted Rational Emotive
Behaviour Therapy (REBT) and Time Management Skills (TMS).
Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy
(REBT) by Ellis is a therapeutic intervention that helps people come out of any
self-defeating thought that inhibits general progress in life. According to Mahfar and Senin (2015), REBT claims that people to a large
degree consciously and unconsciously construct emotional difficulties such
as self-blame, self-pity, clinical anger, hurt, guilt,
shame, depression and anxiety, behaviours and behaviour
tendencies such as procrastination, compulsiveness, avoidance, addiction and withdrawal by the means of their
irrational and self-defeating thinking.
Even though academic stress cannot be eradicated totally, the way a student
sees it and organizes his thought might go a long way in helping that student
make necessary adjustments and continues with his academic pursuit. REBT as a
mental restructuring mechanism is often applied as an educational process in which the therapist
often actively teaches the client how to identify irrational and self-defeating
beliefs and philosophies. Rational
Emotive Behaviour Therapy adopts the ABCDE model in treating client. This model
has explained in great details how emotional disturbance or stress experienced
by an individual is due to irrational beliefs system and not negative events
experienced (Hammels, 2009). Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy techniques were
exposed to students having academic stress and its effectiveness determined.
On the
hand, time management is the process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of
time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or productivity (Zhan, 2011).
Failure to effectively manage ones time results to stress. Different
slogans such as time waits for nobody, time is money, make hare while the sun
shine are clear and strong indications that time is an essential commodity.
Time is a non-renewable resource. Time spent will never be recovered. It is
essential to make maximum use of available time.
No
matter how intelligent a student might be, he will never get to the peak of his
academic pursuit if he is fond of spending time on insignificant things instead
of school- related task (Nakalema and Senyonga 2013). Time management is the
act of planning to distribute ones available time into his daily programme of
activities (Macan, 2012). For instance, a student who has three lectures to
attend in a day, one assignment to be submitted that same day and fellowship to
attend in the evening should sit down and distribute his time in line with the
programme of the day. This action will eliminate the possibility of engaging in
any activity that is not captured in the initial daily plan. By so doing, the
student will be able to attend to his academic matters as at the time required
and save himself from unnecessary pressure that would have arisen from failure
to plan and the struggle to recover the lost plan.
Furthermore,
Nakalema & Senyonga (2013) stated that university study often involves uneven
periods of work in which assignment deadlines may all occur at the same time.
This makes it difficult for students to successfully manage and complete their
work at the stipulated time unless they plan ahead. Constantly working under
the pressure of limitless time will hamper the full potentials of students.
Making the most effective use of one’s time can help students work to the best
of their abilities and achieve the desired result (Nakalema and Senyonga
2013). In the Universities,
lectures and seminars are schedules that take block time. Understanding how to
organize the remainder of the time will help students balance their studies
with any other commitments that they may have. Huang and Zhan (2011) suggest
that students should tackle less interesting and more difficult tasks during
their high energy and peak concentration times and leave the easier work such
as shopping, making of hair and laundry to the time when their strength is low.
This study intends to expose students with academic stress to time management
skills to see if it could help reduce their academic stress.
It
is pertinent to know that Ugwueze (2017) used REBT as an intervention on
procrastination reduction and improved mathematics achievement among low
achieving students in Enugu North, Enugu state and the result showed a
remarkable reduction on procrastination and improvement in mathematics
achievement. Again, time management skill has been used as an intervention by
Nakalema and Senyonga (2013) on students in selected universities in Uganda to
reduce their academic stress arising from high academic demand and achieved
remarkable improvement. No study is found using the combined interventions to
reduce academic stress which is the gap intends to fill. The present study investigated
the effect of REBT and time management skill on the reduction of academic
stress among undergraduate students in Rivers state.
1.2
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Stress is not
entirely negative. Moderate dose of stress motivates. It spurs people to action
in order to achieve their goals. However, people could experience certain
stressors that they do not have corresponding coping mechanisms to overcome.
Such stressors constitute stress. Students in every institution experience
certain levels of academic stress based on the high level of academic demand.
It has been observed that academic stress exist at various levels among
students both in undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The pressure being
mounted on students by academic stress has resulted in inconclusive programmes
and drop-out in the universities.
Academic stress
has denied the nation the economic and social contributions that would have
come from these students if their academic programmes were successfully
completed. This stress if not handled is capable of creating many other health
related issues like mental illness, high blood pressure and even death.
Considering the damaging effect of stress generally and academic stress in
particular, any study that is aimed at providing ways to ameliorate the
challenges of academic stress will be a welcome development. It is vital to
reduce the academic stress experienced by some students. This will boost their
health and might impact positively on their academic performance. Some
behaviour modification techniques have been found to be effective in assisting
students experiencing high academic stress to cope with academic stress. The
problem of the study therefore is to investigate the effect of Rational Emotive
Behaviour Therapy and time Management skills on the reduction of academic
stress among undergraduate students in Rivers State.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The
major objective of this study is to investigate the effect of Rational Emotive
Behaviour Therapy and Time management skills on the reduction of academic
stress among undergraduates. Specifically, the objectives of the study are to:
1.
determine the effect of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy on the reduction of
academic stress of undergraduate students at posttest.
2.
ascertain the effect of Time Management skills on the reduction of academic
stress at posttest.
3.
determine the combined effect of REBT/TM on academic stress at posttest.
4.
determine if there are differences by gender on the effect of the two treatment
packages in the reduction of academic stress at post-test.
5.
find out the mean difference in the reduction of academic stress of
undergraduate students treated with REBT and TMS at posttest.
6.
determine the retention of the treatment effect in the reduction of academic
stress among undergraduate students in the REBT group at follow-up.
7.
determine the retention of the treatment effect in the reduction of academic
stress among undergraduate students in the TMS group at follow-up.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The
findings of this study will be significant to the students, the school system,
the parents, policy makers, curriculum designer, counsellor, researchers in the
field and the society if disseminated through publications in journals,
workshops and conferences.
Students with academic stress will
benefit from this study. Not only that their academic performance will improve,
there will be concomitant improvement in their overall health and well-being.
This will have ripple effect as the other students with academic stress might
request for the same intervention they had in order to reduce their academic
stress.
The result of this study will serve
as a guide to counsellors and psychologists in rendering help to students who
are battling with the pressure of academic stress. The counsellors will utilize
the techniques for this studies if found effective in assisting students with
academic stress to reduce their stress level thus maximizing their potentials
for academic excellence. Psychologists who specialize in how learning takes
place and factors that inhibit learning would find the result useful. This is
because learning can greatly be obstructed by academic stress and any
information on how to reduce the concomitant challenges will be of importance
to them.
The study will be of importance to curriculum designers and
developers. The findings of the study will reveal what constitutes academic
workload. Curriculum experts will then take some factors into cognizance
knowing too well that students can only grasp materials when it is not creating
tension and anxiety.
The school system, policy makers and
the society at large will all benefit from the findings of this study in
several ways. For instance, through the result of this study, the society at
large will learn how stress can be handled as the application of the findings
would be useful to ameliorate stress in general.
The study will serve as a reference
point for academic purposes to subsequent researchers including students,
lecturers and institutions. This is so because such researchers may wish to
obtain information from the theoretical and empirical literature reviewed, the
methodology of the research, the results and other relevant aspects of the
work, for purposes of improvement on their own work.
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The
following research questions guided the study:
1.
what is the effect of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy on academic stress
among undergraduate students and the control at post-test?
2.
what is the effect of Time Management skills on academic stress among
undergraduate students and the control at post-test?
3.
what is the mean score difference between students with academic stress treated
with REBT/TM and control group at post-test?
4.
what is the effect of the two treatment packages on academic stress based on
gender at post-test?
5.
what is the mean difference between students with academic stress treated with
REBT and TMS at posttest?
6.
what is the extent of retention of treatment effect in the reduction of
academic stress among undergraduate students in REBT group and control at
follow-up?
7.
what is the extent of retention of treatment effect in the reduction of
academic stress among undergraduate students in TMS group and control at
follow-up?
1.6 HYPOTHESES
The
following null hypotheses, which were tested at 0. 05 level of significance,
were formulated to guide the study.
HO1:
There is no significant mean difference on academic stress reduction between
those in Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy treatment group and control group
at posttest.
HO2:
There is no significant mean difference on academic stress reduction between
those in Time Management Skills treatment group and control group at posttest.
HO3: There is no significant
mean difference on academic stress reduction between those in the combined
(REBT/TM) treatment and control group at post-test.
HO4: There is no significant
mean difference of the two treatment packages on the reduction of academic
stress based on gender at post-test.
HO5:
There is no significant mean difference in the reduction of academic stress
among undergraduate students treated with REBT and TMS at posttest.
HO6: There is no significant retention of
treatment effect in the reduction of academic stress among undergraduate
students in REBT group and control at follow-up.
HO7: There is no significant retention of
treatment effect in the reduction of academic stress among undergraduate
students in TMS group and control at follow-up.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
Two
hundred level undergraduate students of 2017/2018 academic session with high
academic stress measured using Student Academic Stress Indices (SASI) were the
subjects of this study. Students with moderate and low academic stress were not
part of the study. Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy by Albert Ellis and Time
management skills are the independent variables and reduction of academic
stress among undergraduate is the dependent variable. Gender is the moderating
variable. The study was carried out in Rivers state.
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