i

EFFECTIVENESS OF TWO INTERVENTION STRATEGIES ON THE PSYCHOSOCIAL PROBLEMS OF VICTIMS OF SIBLING

MALTREATMENT AMONG JUNIOR SECONDARY STUDENTS IN LAGOS, NIGERIA

BY

AJAERO, IRENE IHUOMA

MATRIC.NO: 970305004 B.A. (Ed) GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING, UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS (2002)

M.Ed. (EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY)

UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS (2003)

A THESIS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL

FOUNDATIONS SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF

POSTGRADUATE STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS IN PARTIAL

FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF

THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D) IN

EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

ii

APPROVAL

This research report has been approved for the Department of

Educational Foundation, Faculty of Education and School of Post

graduate Studies, University of Lagos.

By

________________________ ________________________

Prof. Ngozi .A. Osarenren Date

Supervisor

________________________ ________________________

Prof. G.C Ilogu Date

Supervisor

________________________ ________________________

Prof. G.C Ilogu Date

Head of Department

iii

SCHOOL OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES

UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS

CERTIFICATION This is to certify that the Thesis:

“EFFECTIVENESS OF TWO INTERVENTION STRATEGIES ON

THE PSYCHOSOCIAL PROBLEMS OF VICTIMS OF SIBLING

MALTREATMENT AMONG JUNIOR SECONDARY STUDENTS IN

LAGOS NIGERIA”

Submitted to the School of Post Graduate Studies

University of Lagos For the award of the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D)

Is a record of original research carried out

By

AJAERO, IRENE IHUOMA

In the Department of Educational Foundations

______________________ ______________________ ______________________ Author’s Name Signature Date ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ 1st Supervisor’s Name Signature Date

______________________ ______________________ ______________________

2nd Supervisor’s Name Signature Date

______________________ ______________________ ______________________ 1st Internal Examiner Signature Date

______________________ ______________________ ______________________ 2nd Internal Examiner Signature Date

______________________ ______________________ ______________________ External Examiner Signature Date

______________________ ______________________ ______________________ SPGS Representative Signature Date

iv

DEDICATION

THIS RESEARCH IS DEDICATED TO THE ALMIGHTY GOD FOR HIS MERCIES, TO MY HUSBAND CHIEF TONY OKECHUKWU AJAERO FOR HIS FERVENT PRAYERS AND REINFORCEMENT. AND TO THE BLESSED MEMORIES OF MY LATE PARENTS CHIEF

MOSES AND MRS COMFORT OBIALO

v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I gratefully acknowledge and express deep and sincere appreciation to my

first supervisor Prof. Ngozi .A. Osarenren for her support, encouragement

and counsel which helped to shape the form of this study.

My appreciation also goes to Prof. G.C Ilogu my second Supervisor and the

Head of Department of Educational Foundations, University of Lagos for

encouragement, guidance, useful contributions and counsel. To Dr. I.P

Nwadinigwe for his support, constructive criticisms, counsel and useful

suggestions, to Prof. (Mrs) O.M Omoegun , Prof.(Mrs) A.M Olusakin and Dr

(Mrs) I.I Abe for significant contributions, to Dr. C.E Okoli, Dr. M.B

Ubangha, Dr (Mrs) B.O. Makinde, Dr. Sola Aletan, Dr. A. Oni and Dr (Mrs)

O.M. Alade for useful contributions to this study. I must not fail to mention

Rev. (Fr) F. Isichei (retired) for his contributions.

To my friends and Colleagues in the department, Eluemuno, A. Madueke I.,

Oluwo, E. Furo, Oputa E and Uche, I say “Thank you” for companionship

and encouragement.

My special thanks also go to my sister Dr S. Anyama of the Department of

Educational foundations for her continuous prayers and encouragement, to

Mrs Christy Nwachukwu and Barrister Thelma Uzoma for their useful

contributions and encouragement.

My gratitude also goes to Mr. Onoka for his encouragement and Mr.

Babatunde of University of Lagos main library for his support. My sincere

thanks go to principals of schools where the data for this study were

collected and also to the students who were the participants for the study

for their cooperation in making the collection of data possible. I wish to

thank all the research assistants that worked with me for their unrelenting

efforts and competence in gathering and collating the data.

I also appreciate the collaborative spirit of Dr. Bolaji Steve at all levels of

this study. I cannot forget Mrs Jane Okereke for her patience in reviewing

the manuscript and offering many constructive criticism and revision.

vi

I remain grateful to my wonderful husband, Chief Tony Okechukwu Ajaero

for his prayers, love and support and also for his faith in my ability to excel

in the midst of all challenges. To my children, Delight Chidinma and

Okechukwu Tony Jr. who showed enthusiasm in my work and also

provided useful contributions. I gratefully acknowledge and express deep

appreciation to my cousin Dr. Chukwuemeka Chinaka who showed much

confidence in me and also supported me, to my sisters and brothers for

their show of love, support and interest in my academic pursuits. I

acknowledge the contributions of my cousin Lisa Asugha, My Uncle Chief

J.C Asugha and the moral support of Franca Ezim.

Once again to Prof. N.A. Osarenren, I thank you so much for not losing

confidence in me rather you motivated, counseled and supported me in all

ramifications to see to the completion of this work. God in his infinite

mercies will always remember and support you and also meet you at the

point of all your needs. I and my family shall ever remain grateful to you.

I acknowledge the wonderful assistance rendered by the administrative staff

of the Department of Educational Foundations. The Almighty God will not

forget their labours of love. To all who assisted me along the way to make

this endavour successful but cannot be specially mentioned I say “God will

remember you for good”. God bless you all. Amen. Above all, I thank the

Almighty God for giving me the privilege to undertake this study for his

mercies endureth forever.

Irene Ihuoma Ajaero

vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page Title page i

Approval ii

Certification iii

Dedication iv

Acknowledgement v

Table of Contents v

List of Tables vii

List of Figures xii

List of Appendices xiv

Abstract xv

CHAPTER ONE: THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Background of the Study 1

Statement of the Problem 6

Theoretical Framework 8

Purpose of Study 12

Research Questions 14

Research Hypothesis 14

Significance of the Study 15

Scope and Delimitation of the Study 15

Operational Definition of Terms 15

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction 19

The Concept of Sibling Maltreatment 19

Causes and Types 29

Criteria to identify Sibling Maltreatment 33

Psychosocial Problems of Victims of Sibling Maltreatment

Depression 42

Family Relationship 61

Anxiety 45

viii

Self Esteem 56

Treatment of Psychosocial Problems of Victims of Sibling

Maltreatment General Approaches 64

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy 65

Research findings on Cognitive Behaviour Therapy 70

Social Problems Solving Skills 76

Research Findings on Social Problem Solving skills 82

Gender differences in Sibling Maltreatment 84

Summary of Review 86

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

Introduction 89

Study Area 90

Sample and Sampling Technique 91

Instrumentation 94

Validation of Instruments 98

Pilot study 98

Procedure for Data Collection 100

Permission 100

Recruitment of Research Assistants 100

Administration of Questionnaires 101

Treatment / Intervention Strategies 101

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy 108

Social Problems Solving skills 118

Placebo Treatment 101

CHAPTRER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS

Introduction 125

Baseline Assessment 127

Result of Data Analysis

Testing of Hypotheses 1 138

Effects of treatment on post test Anxiety scores

Testing of Hypothesis 2 138

ix

Effects of treatment on post test family Relationship

Testing of Hypotheses 3 138

Effects of Treatment on post test self esteem

Testing of Hypothesis 4 139

Effects of treatment on post test depression scores

Testing of Hypothesis 5 139

Effects of gender on post test Anxiety

Effects of gender on post test family Relationship

Effects of gender on post test self esteem

Effects of gender on posttest Depression

Testing of Hypothesis 6 139

Interaction effects of gender and experimental conditions

on Anxiety 138

Interaction effects of gender and experimental

conditions on Family Relationship 139

Interaction effects of gender and experimental conditions on

Self Esteem 139

Interaction effects of gender and experimental conditions on

Depression 140

Summary of Results 141

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSIONS ON FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS

AND CONCLUSION

Introduction 144

Discussion of findings 144

Baseline assessment 144

Effects of Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Social Problem

Solving Skills on participants Anxiety, Family

Relationship, Self Esteem and Depression 156

Gender differences in the effects of experimental

Conditions on the four dependent measures of Anxiety,

Family Relations, Self Esteem and Depression 156

x

Interaction effects of gender and treatment on dependent

measures 157

Summary of findings 157

Recommendations 159

Conclusion 161

Contributions to knowledge 162

References 164

Appendix 1

Appendix II

Appendix III

xi

LIST OF TABLES

1. Distribution of participants

2. Test retest reliability estimates of the instruments used

3. Ancova test of post test measures of anxiety between treatment

and control groups

4. Pairwise comparisons between treatment and control groups on

posttest anxiety scores

5. Ancova test of post test measures of family relationship between

treatment and control groups

6. Pairwise comparison between treatment and control groups on post

test family relationship on scores

7. Ancova test of post test measures of self esteem between treatment

and control group

8. Pairwise comparisons between treatment and control groups on

post test self esteem on scores

9. Ancova test of posttest measures of depression between treatment

and control group

10. Pairwise comparison between treatment and control groups

of post test depression.

LIST OF APPENDICES

Face sheet of questionnaire Booklet

Index of Self- Esteem (ISE)

Index of family Relations (IFR)

Depression Self Rating Scale (DSR)

Relaxation Training Procedure

Letter of Introduction

xii

ABSTRACT

This Study investigated the effectiveness of Social Problem Solving Skills and Cognitive

Behaviour Therapy in managing the psychosocial problems of victims of sibling

maltreatment, such as depression, anxiety, low self esteem and family relationship among

Junior Secondary Students in Lagos State. The moderating effect of gender was also

examined. A total of 180 (90 males and 90 females) junior secondary two student with mean

age of 12.1 years served as participants for this study. The participants were randomly

selected after a baseline assessment was done on an initial sample of 600 students (300

males and 300 females) drawn through stratified sample technique, from three public junior

secondary schools in Ikeja, Mushin and Oshodi / Isolo that made up Lagos Education

District six Lagos State. The students who scored 100 marks and above in Sibling Abuse

Interview Schedule and 30 marks and above in the psycho-social Symptom Checklist were

those included in this study. Six hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Data

collected from various instruments were treated statistically using both descriptive and

inferential statistics Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) and Fisher’s Least Square Method

were the statistical tools used. Testing of hypotheses were set at 0.05 level of significance.

Result of the data analysis indicated that out of the six null hypotheses, four were rejected

and two were accepted. The findings revealed that: the two intervention strategies, Social

Problem Solving Skills and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy proved to be effective in reducing

anxiety of participants. However, participants in the Social Problem Solving Skills Group

(SPSS) displayed significantly higher anxiety reduction than the Cognitive Behaviour

Therapy group, therefore, proved more effective in the treatment of anxiety. The two

intervention strategies were equally effective in improving family relations of participants.

Social Problem Solving Skills and Cognitive Behavior Therapy also proved to be effective

in increasing self esteem of participants. The two strategies were equally effective in

reducing the depression level of participants. There was no significant gender difference in

the post test scores of participants on the dependent measures- Anxiety, Family Relations,

Self Esteem and Depression of participants. The interaction of gender and experimental

condition did not record any significant effect on all dependent variables. The findings were

exhaustively discussed and recommendations made.

1

CHAPTER ONE

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

1.0 Introduction

In Nigeria and other countries of the world, family violence has generated

a lot of public concern. In our society, it is a usual occurrence to

witness how some husbands violently fight with their wives, parents

physically and emotionally abuse their children and even some fathers

sexually abuse their young daughters (Akose, 2008). Presently,

considerable progress is being made in the field of family violence by

individuals, organizations and government to put programmes in place

in an attempt to eradicate the problem (Ubochi, 2007 and Adeyemi,

2007). A type of family violence sibling maltreatment, known as a

repeated pattern of aggression, directed at a sibling by another with the

intent to inflict physical, psychological or sexual harm, motivated by

internal emotional need for power and control (Superville, 2012), has

been identified as one of the most pervasive and maladaptive behaviour

among siblings in recent times in Nigeria (Enebuwa-Okoh, 2011).

Sibling Maltreatment comes in physical, emotional and sexual forms

with varying degrees of damaging psychosocial problems inflicted on the

victims. In the opinion of Aluede (2011), sibling maltreatment has major

destructive force in all its types, with its most damaging effects

impacting on the victim‟s self–esteem, family relationship and

psychosocial functioning in general. This social problem appears to be

ravaging families in our society without parents and significant others

2

recognizing it as a problem. Some parents seem not to believe their

children when they were told what was happening, still other parents

often erroneously thought of this harmful behaviour as normal process

of growing up and simply tagged it sibling rivalry (Nwankwo, 2010 and

Caffaro and Con-Caffaro, 2000). Sibling rivalry is widely accepted as

normal characteristics of sibling and family relationships, this assertion

by parents may be attributed to reluctance to discuss what happens in

the privacy of their homes. More so, parents underreport and

underestimate the rates of sibling violence at home, probably out of

ignorance and not knowing about every instance of abuse that occurs in

their homes. Some other times, they are in total denial of the existence of

sibling maltreatment. The challenges are that the presence of sibling

maltreatment may disrupt the peace necessary for the family‟s greatest

potentials of nurturing healthy children, threaten the psychosocial

functioning of the victims and interfere with developmental process of

such children.

Osarenren and Anyama (2011) noted that conflict is inevitable in all

human associations but the individual‟s response to the conflict is what

can be helpful or harmful. Similarly, Nnorom (2005) observed that

violent activities have taken over the greater part of our families in the

present day where children maim their siblings; inflict permanent and

life threatening injuries on brothers and sisters. For example, in

Mafoluku area of Lagos state, Tunde (11years ) was fond of ridiculing

his younger brother Yomi (7years) who is overweight by calling him

names such as „orobo‟,‟cow‟ and „elephant‟. One day while they were

eating, Tunde started the name calling and Yomi used the fork with

which he was eating to pierce Tunde‟s eye, as a result Tunde remains

3

permanently blind on one eye (0jo, 2008). It is natural that brothers and

sisters living together must have different expectations, different life

experiences and are bound to step on each other‟s toes, this may breed

conflicts and violence with detrimental effects which may affect the

siblings‟ psychosocial functioning. Here intervention becomes necessary

to facilitate the resolution of such conflicts rather than minimizing it.

Statistics show that sibling maltreatment seems to be an increasing

phenomenon in many families in Nigeria (Ilechukwu, 2006).In a survey

of two hundred and fifty four (254) families, on prevalence of sibling

maltreatment among secondary school students in South -East Nigeria,

Osolu (2008) found that sixty-three (63) out of every hundred children

between the ages of four and eighteen years are regular victims of

maltreatment by their siblings.

Similarly, Philips (2005) reported that fifty-eight percent (58%) of

children engaged in physical aggression, as many as ninety-two percent

(92%) engaged in verbal aggression against siblings on a regular basis

and at least forty three (43) out of every one hundred girls have been

sexually abused by a sibling in Lagos and its environs. Levy (2005)

pointed out some consequences of sibling maltreatment and some of its

psycho-social-problems as depression, anxiety, impulsivity;

distractibility and low-self esteem which are very traumatic and may

powerfully influence a child‟s everyday life and development. However, it

appears that sibling relationship provides a training ground for this

threatening behaviour, which the children unleash on their siblings.

Some deliberately hurt their brothers and sisters physically, others force

sex on them often accompanied with emotional degradation and these

have some negative effects. Any form of sibling maltreatment was found

4

to be significantly associated with depression, low self –esteem, anxiety

and fear, which pose some debilitating psychosocial consequences that

may negatively affect the victims and interfere with the primary

functions of the families unnoticed. According to Osarenren (2000) the

family as a primary socializing agency has the responsibility to raise a

child to become a well adjusted member of the society. Sibling violence

may distort these basic functions of nurturance and socialization,

originally offered by the family for the proper growth and development of

the victims if neglected. The pervasiveness of sibling maltreatment in

many homes in Nigeria has been attributed to many factors such as lack

of supervision on the part of parents, child labeling, meager family

resources available, inappropriate family configurations, presence of

spousal abuse in the home and other family stress factors (Wiehe, 2000).

Some of these factors have also been confirmed by Enebuwa-Okoh

(2011) as significant predictors of the prevalence of sibling maltreatment.

In Nigeria, a significant number of children grow up maltreated,

physically and emotionally hurt by brothers and sisters who live in the

same room with them. Dziuba- Leatherman (2010) stated that sibling

maltreatment is the most frequent form of child victimization,

conspicuously prevalent, but has been studied in a little proportion to

how often it has occurred. Presently, the issue of sibling maltreatment

has not been adequately handled in Nigeria. Adeyemi (2007) is of the

opinion that the prevalence of sibling maltreatment has had myriad of

social and psychological consequences in Nigerian families, which the

victims may not only carry into adulthood but also in the larger society

as miscreants. Following this, a lot of work is still required to instill in

the victims appropriate attitude and coping strategies to minimize the

5

negative effects of sibling maltreatment. Yet, parents and caregivers who

do not have solutions to this tragic reality still accept the situation as

normal process of growing up. Here are some instances which are

typical of the ways some siblings usually treat their brothers and sisters

in our society. The researcher conducted the following interviews-A 9

year old boy in Ajao Estate in Isolo, Lagos Nigeria speaks: “My sister

would bite and slap me at the slightest thing every day”. Another 10 year

old girl from Egbeda, Lagos State describes her experience with her

sibling thus “My brother, 4 years older than me will call me names such

as “Orobo ”, ”Ugly” and a “Cow”, because I am fat, in front of my friends

and they will laugh at me. Another 14 year old girl from Ogba, Lagos

says. “My 16 year old brother in Senior Secondary three (SS 3) told me

that their fine art teacher asked them to draw a picture of an adolescent

girl therefore needed to see me naked. I refused; he forcefully undressed

me and fondled my breast”. He warned me never to tell anybody.

With these expressions, most families in our society still treat sibling

maltreatment as being relatively inconsequential. Even with its lifelong

debilitating psychological and social effects, parents ignore and

normalize the situation as sibling rivalry.However, healthy rivalries are

normal and positive because it strengthens the siblings‟ relational bond,

contribute to cognitive and social development of the children involved

(Daniel, 2005). On the other hand, sibling maltreatment is harmful, it

deserves greater attention on how to manage and curb the situation. The

individuals who are victims need to learn new skills and strategies to

cope with the abusive situation because of the alarming frequency of

occurrence and the possibility of the negative effects on the victims.

Appropriate intervention strategies will reduce the psychological and

6

social problems that come with the abuse which may affect the victims‟

inter-personal relationships later in life if not checked (Kiselica &

Richards, 2007). Previous researches (Caffaro and Con-Caffaro, 1998

and Wiehe, 1998) had focused on the psychosocial problems of sibling

maltreatment with little or no attention paid in the area of intervention.

Consequently, there is need to look at the effectiveness of Cognitive

Behaviour Therapy and Social Problem Solving Skills in managing the

psychosocial problems of sibling maltreated students in Lagos state.

1.1 Statement of the Problem

The Families‟ general failure to acknowledge sibling maltreatment as a

problem appears to have led to an increase in the incidence of this social

problem. In our society, victims of sibling maltreatment live with its‟

devastating psychological and social effects as if they deserve it. This

development has led to negative impacts as victims struggle with feelings

of frustration and worthlessness, which may result in heightened level of

psychological distress in adulthood (Wiehe, 2000). The physically

maltreated children suffer varying degree of medical and harmful

Problems such that their overall functioning and health are affected.

Such children are also known to be less competent in social interaction

with peers; social skills that help to initiate positive sibling relationship

are also lacking or inadequate. More so, emotional maltreatment which

frequently accompanies sexual abuse come with its own pains. Victims

seem to be overly sensitive to abusive comments that they often

internalize such messages received from brothers and sisters. Its

outcome has the potential to distort the child‟s assumption and

7

perception about self- which is an important determinant of the child‟s

self concept and psychosocial adjustment later in life (Freezer, 2000).

Children exposed to sibling violence at home are at persistent conflict

and confusion about self, family relationships and parental authority.

They show high rate of various conduct problems which may be

manifested as withdrawal, anxiety, fear and anger (Caffaro and Con-

Caffaro (1998). Victim of Sibling Maltreatment encounter impairment in

functioning- including depression, anxiety, problem in relationship with

the opposite sex, low self esteem and abuse of substance and alcohol.

Such children tend to feel unwanted, inferior, unloved and inadequate.

These symptoms have been linked to low self esteem which can affect

the individual‟s psychological and social development and lead to

depression- A mood state often thought to result from anger victims feel

towards the perpetrator which they inappropriately turn towards self,

this may negatively affect the children‟s motivation, behaviour and social

relationship later in life.

In Nigeria, the inability of parents to differentiate sibling maltreatment

from sibling rivalry out of ignorance is a problem. Parents often accept

the behavior as normal with such common statements as “Kids will be

kids” and “it is normal sibling rivalry” (Caffaro and Con- Caffaro, 1998).

Not only that, the sociological aspect of sibling maltreatment on the

victims is long lasting in the sense that the abused of today, often times

turn to be the abuser of tomorrow (Hurdy, 2001). A maltreated child is a

social nuisance because he or she experiences conflict and emotional

degradation. Some of them become delinquent in the end; others run

away from home and become social misfit because their environment is

deficient in love and protection. With this social ill confronting the

8

families in Nigeria, parents and significant others also seem to ignore

sibling maltreatment as to effectively handle the problem, hence the

resulting psychological and social problems of sibling maltreatment

among victims. Despite these problems, it is known that prevention and

treatment programmes in our society on family violence, focused on

child abuse by parents and incest (Ilechukwu, 2006). Also, awareness

programmes seem ineffective given the prevalence of sibling

maltreatment in our society. Accurate assessment and remediation pose

unique problems; little or nothing has been done to incorporate different

intervention strategies to reduce the prevalence of sibling maltreatment.

This study provides insight into Social Problem Solving Skills training

and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy as intervention strategies to manage

the psychosocial problems of victims of sibling maltreatment.

1.2 Theoretical Framework for the Study

The theories relevant to guide this study include:

Interactional Theory of Child Abuse: Parker and Collmer (2000).

Family System Theory: Gibbert (1992).

Cognitive Behaviour Theory: Beck (1995).

1.2.1 Interactional Theory of Child Abuse :( Parker and Collmer,

2000)

This theory observes that genetically determined physical and

behavioural characteristics of a child would likely make a child a target

of maltreatment. It implies that certain individuals may be targets of

9

maltreatment because of their behaviour and physical characteristics.

Often times, the maltreatment is directed at a specific child. For

example, a child who is very fat, very thin or ugly may experience

frequent name calling (emotional maltreatment) such as fatty (“Orobo”)

skinny (“Lekpa”).It is also possible when a younger brother or sister

makes excessive demand on the older sibling for attention or for the use

of toys or clothes, the older brother or sister may maltreat the younger

one due to excessive stress from him. The relevance of this theory to this

study is that it acts as a key for parents and significant others to identify

and analyze factors that contribute to sibling maltreatment to effectively

intervene before it escalates. It also places responsibility on the victims

how to prevent and treat this social problem. This theory is found

relevant for this work.

1.2.2 Family Systems Theory (Gibbert, 1992).This theory

emphasizes the influence of the family on an individual‟s behaviour. It

states that the Individual quality of relationship with others are largely

the result of his family experiences .It sees an interconnectedness of

roles, statuses, values and norms among each of the members of the

family. It holds that the family is an interdependent unit and the actions

of one family member have an impact on all of the other members.

Maltreatment may be as a result of deficiencies, disturbances in

interaction and relationship that exist within the family. This theory

does not treat any member in isolation rather it concentrates on the

influence of the individual behaviour which views the individual as a

unit within the system.

10

It suggests that sibling maltreatment is a reflection of behaviour that has

been witnessed or experienced within the family such as actions of the

parents, conflict over emotional and material resources, that all have

roles to play. One distinct characteristic of the family systems theory is

that abnormal or maladaptive behaviour by the individual is usually a

reflection of an unhealthy family dynamics, more especially of poor

communication among family members. Belsky (2000) sees sibling

maltreatment as a socio-psychological phenomenon affected by forces at

work in the individual, the family system, the community and the

culture. For example, inadequate finances may require both parents to

work till late every day making them unavailable, so also inadequate

housing may prevent siblings of different ages from having adequate

privacy and after school care for children who return from school before

their parents return from work may not be available. Under these

situations, problems which affect the parents are in turn experienced by

the children.

This situation may affect the children‟s relationship with their parents

and toward each other as siblings. Therefore, it is imperative to say that

healthy psychosocial development of the individual and family occur in

the families that provide the basic support system such as adequate

housing, finances, family resources, after school care and social services

programmes that are adequate, accessible and available to all persons.

Thus, instead of blaming the perpetrator or the parents of the victim of

sibling maltreatment, the individuals must be viewed in the context of

the families in which they live and the influences of such families on

them. The relevance of this theory to this study is that it explains the

role of the socio- psychological forces influencing the child from home. It

11

assesses the impact deficiencies in such factors in the family play. This

theory also assesses the family to reveal some psychopathologies on the

part of parents and the children which may play motivating roles in

aggravating sibling maltreatment to enable the parents and victims

understand and deal with the problem. The theory also shares the idea

that individuals cannot be treated in isolation of the influence of the

family in which they live in. The theory is therefore suitable for this

research work.

1.2.3 Cognitive Behaviour Theory: Beck (1995) states that

individual‟s feelings are influenced by what they think and how they view

life events. It emphasizes the role of disturbed thinking processes in

causing maladaptive behaviour. It contends that unhealthy thinking,

perception and evaluation of events, produce negative emotions such as

frustration, depression, anger, anxiety and low self esteem which may be

harmful to an individual‟s well being. The theory explains that it is not

people‟s experiences or situations that make them angry, depressed or

anxious but the way they process the information and think about those

experiences (Beck, 1995). Beck (1976) highlighted five ways in which

individuals may distort reality as follow;

Personalization – Blaming self for an occurrence beyond one‟s control.

Polarized thinking- Interpreting situations in all or nothing terms.

Selective abstraction –Taking minor details out of context while

focusing on trivialities.

Arbitrary inference- Jumping to conclusions that are not supported by

evidence.

12

Over-generalization –Drawing conclusion from a single experience.

Beck (1995) further describes three types of cognitions that can

influence an individual‟s feeling and behaviour. These are (1) Information

processing (2) Automatic thoughts and (3) Schema.

Information processing - Beck (1995) contends that individuals

constantly receive information from the internal and external

environment which their brain process and make sense of.

(2) Automatic Thoughts. - This is referred to as cognitions (individual

thoughts which occur spontaneously) which are part of a person‟s

internal dialogue and

(3)Schema- The unspoken rules or underlying believes learned through

early experiences, which every individual holds about self, others and

the world. Beck (1995) further states that self debasing beliefs lead to

negative emotions like depression, anger and anxiety. These emotions

are brought upon by overly negative interpretation of events

(Westermeyer, 2007). The theory further explains that these maladaptive

cognitive schemas, automatic thoughts and cognitive distortion that lead

to emotional disturbances are learned. That people‟s vulnerability to

psychological problems is as a result of some interacting factors such as

social learning and childhood experiences. This study is anchored on

this theory; it suggests that modification and replacement of this

maladaptive thought process and behaviour could be learned through

some psychological principles such as cognitive restructuring,

assertiveness training, and behavior modification. These will correct the

faulty thinking patterns and bring about positive thinking and behavior

that will get one‟s life back on track. The researcher has therefore found

13

Cognitive Behavior Theory approach relevant for changing the victims

thinking pattern, behavior and consequent reduction in psychosocial

problems of sibling maltreatment.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to explore the effectiveness of two

intervention strategies (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Social Problem

Solving Skills) in managing the psycho-social problems (Low –Self

Esteem, Anxiety, Depression, and Faulty Family Relationships) of victims

of sibling maltreatment among junior secondary students in Lagos State.

The following objectives were set to achieve this aim:

Evaluate which of the two intervention strategies will be more effective in

managing Anxiety, Depression, Low Self Esteem and Faulty Family

Relationship of victims.

Determine if gender differences would influence the effectiveness of the

intervention strategies in managing the psychosocial problems of victims

of sibling maltreatment.

Ascertain whether the interaction of gender and the experimental

conditions would have any effect on Anxiety, Family Relationship, Self

Esteem and Depression.

Create awareness about the problem of Sibling maltreatment and how

the victims will overcome the psychosocial problems.

14

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions guided the study:-

1. Will there be any difference in the pretest and post- test scores on

anxiety among the participants in the three experimental groups?

2. Will there be any difference in the pretest and post- test scores on

family relationship among the three experimental groups?

3. Will there be any difference in the pretest and post- test scores on

self esteem among the three experimental groups?

4. Will there be any difference in the pretest and post- test scores on

depression among the three experimental groups?

5. Will there be any gender difference in the post- test scores on the

dependent variables of participants from the three experimental

groups?

6. Will there be any difference in the post- test scores on dependent

variables due to interaction effects of gender and experimental

conditions among participants in the three experimental groups?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were tested.

1. There is no significant difference in the post- test scores on anxiety

among participants in the three experimental groups.

15

2. There is no significant difference in the post- test scores on family

relationship among participants in the three experimental groups.

3. There is no significant difference in the post-test scores on self

esteem among participants in the three experimental groups.

4. There is no significant difference in the post- test scores on

depression among participants in the three experimental groups.

5. There is no significant gender difference in the post- test scores of

participants on the four dependent measures in the three

experimental groups.

6. There is no significant difference in the post– test scores on

dependent variables as a result of interaction effects of gender and

experimental conditions.

1.6 Significance of the Study

This study will be of immense benefits to the professionals in the field of

family violence in the treatment of psychosocial problems of individuals

exposed to sibling maltreatment. It will enrich parents and significant

others with the knowledge of the harmful effects of sibling maltreatment.

In addition, it will provide psychologists, guidance counselors, parents,

teachers, researchers and significant others with empirical data to tackle

the problem of sibling maltreatment. It will contribute to the formulation

of government policies for prevention of sibling maltreatment.

Furthermore, it will provide an understanding of the effectiveness of

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Social Problem Sibling Skills training

and their relevance in the treatment of psycho-social problems of sibling

maltreatment.

16

1.7 Scope and Delimitation of the study

This study is limited to only students between the ages of 11 and 14

years who are victims of sibling maltreatment in Lagos State. The study

covered only some psycho-social problems experienced by victims of

sibling maltreatment with trauma that may interfere with the growth

and development of such individuals. These are: - Anxiety, Depression,

Faulty-family relations and Low self-esteem. Hence generalization is

limited to such defined population and children raised under similar

circumstances in any part of Nigeria.

1.8 Operational Definition of Terms

Maltreatment–In this study refer to ill treatment, acts of aggression,

verbal assaults, sexual molestation, inflicting physical harm such as (

beating, inflicting injury, emotional injury such as neglect or verbal

attacks)or destroying the property of one child by another.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)

It is a psychological principle, made up of combination of cognitive and

behaviour therapies through which peoples‟ faulty cognitions about

themselves, others and the world are modified to a more accurate and

acceptable ones. In this study, it is one of the intervention strategies.

Sibling

In this study, it refers to brothers and sisters who are living under the

same roof, who may be related by blood, by law or marriage of parents.

They may be full sibling (related through both parents) step sibling

17

(related by marriage of parents), or half sibling (related by sharing one

parent) or adoptive or foster sibling (related by law).

Sibling Maltreatment: In this study, it refers to a willful attempt by a

brother or sister living in the same home to repetitively fight, hurt the

other through physical, verbal and /or sexual means with intention to

humiliate and belittle.

Sibling Rivalry: In this study, it refers to mutual conflict or aggression

between siblings that entail fights, quarrels, and arguments, verbal

attacks between siblings in which the reward is the possession of

something that the other wants, which terminates the moment the aim

of what caused the problem is achieved.

Social Problem Solving Skills. These are appropriate social skills,

such as rules of conduct and communication, negotiation and conflict

resolution skills, to develop, cultivate and cope with variety of life

dilemmas as out lined by (Hazler,1996; Red,2003;Newman,Horne and

Bartolomucci,2003 and Wiehe, 2000) In this study, it is used as one of

the intervention strategies.

Psycho-Social Problems-These refer to psychological and social

problems victims of sibling maltreatment experience. In this study they

refer to Anxiety, Depression, Low Self –Esteem and Faulty Family

Relationships

Anxiety –This refers to anticipatory emotion characterized by abnormal

apprehension, fear and uneasiness that stems from anticipation of

danger .In this study anxiety refers to feeling of apprehension and fear

not knowing what will happen next.

18

Depression –This is an emotional state characterized by mood

disturbances, in which the sufferer finds self in intense sadness, feeling

of futility , worthlessness, emptiness and inability to feel pleasure and

withdrawal from others (Whitebourne and Halgin,2000) For the purpose

of this study, it refers to persistent feeling of hopelessness.

Low Self –Esteem--This refers to the individual perception of self as

inept, unworthy and incompetent regardless of reality. In this study, it

refers to a low sense of self regard, an individual‟s negative evaluation of

self worth.

Faulty Family Relationship-This refers to all negative interactions,

verbal and non verbal of two or more siblings who are members of the

same family, characterized by insults, humiliation, quarrels, fights, fear,

shame and different types of maltreatments.

Abusive Behaviour : In this study include pushing, slapping, beating,

throwing object at, hitting with an object, threatening to use or using

knife, bottle, or gun, verbal attack such as name calling, ridicule,

degradation, sexual intercourse and non contact sexual maltreatment

such as sexual conversation and forcing an individual to watch

pornographic pictures.

Victim- The unwilling partner in the maltreatment. In this study refers

to the child who is being maltreated at home by a brother or sister.

19

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The review of related literature is organized into the following sub-

headings:

The Concept of Sibling Maltreatment, Causes and Types of Sibling

Maltreatment.

Criteria to Define the Existence of Sibling Maltreatment.

Psycho-Social Problems of Sibling Maltreatment. Such as-

Anxiety, Depression, Low Self –Esteem and Family Relationships.

Treatment of Psychosocial Problems of Victims of Sibling

Maltreatment.

Gender Differences In Sibling Maltreatment

Summary of Review

2.0 The Concept of Sibling Maltreatment

Sibling maltreatment has been defined in different ways, according to

Caffaro and Con- Caffaro (1998) sibling maltreatment is a situation when

one member of a sibling pair deliberately, causes physical, emotional or

sexual harm to a brother or a sister. Ubochi (2007) described it as a

consistent fight directed toward a sibling that aims to leave the other

feeling humiliated and defeated, which may be physical, emotional or

sexual. To Superville (2012) it is a repeated pattern of aggression

directed at a sibling by another with the intent to inflict physical,

psychological or sexual harm motivated by internal emotional need for

power and control. To Wiehe, (2000) sibling maltreatment is a stimulus

that gives rise to conflicts in interpersonal relationships, faulty family

20

relationships and maladaptive behaviour later in life. Peaceful home

environment makes significant contribution to nurturing and

socialization practices but children who are maltreated are exposed to

certain risk factors. Hoffman and Edward (2004) observed that such

factors are high rates of various conduct problems; they encounter

multiple threats to their physical and emotional development, fighting

inside and outside the home, inadequate social skills, role violation and

danger of developmental delay in cognitive functioning. However, Caffaro

and Con –Caffaro (1998) stated that the definition of sibling

maltreatment is complicated because human behaviour has many gray

areas. Levy (2005) saw it as those distressing, unpleasant, or painful

memories of experiences with a brother or a sister, some of these

experiences may be vague, others might be very clear .

While Enebuwah-Okoh (2011) defined it as a willful attempt by a child

to hurt his or her sibling through physical, verbal, sexual and

psychosocial means. To Wiehe (2000) it is the physical, emotional or

sexual abuse of one sibling by the other which consists of a range of

behaviour that can cause pain, injury or even death to the victim. Such

behaviour include ,pushing, kicking, beating, slapping, or using

weapons like gun, broken bottles, hangers, razor blades to inflict harm,

belittling , humiliating, sexual and non contact sexual behaviour. These

include behaviour such as, intercourse, sexual conversation, forcing a

child to watch pornographic pictures or the sexual behaviour of others.

Kiselica and Richards (2007) stated that some victims of sibling

maltreatment reported that their family environment were “toxic”. While,

Wiehe (2000) equally asserted that some victims described the

atmosphere in their homes as “battleground” (p 455) and confirmed that

21

children raised in such environment learn to survive through

intimidation and cruelty. Wiehe (1998) asserted that complication may

arise in the definition of sibling maltreatment because it is difficult to

determine where normal behaviour between siblings end and

maltreatment begins. Therefore, to regard a behaviour as maltreatment

certain factors should be considered such as- (1) The intent, (2)the

intensity, (3) the severity of the act,(4) the emotional impact of the act on

another sibling, (5) the age appropriateness of the behaviour and if any

sibling is playing the role of an aggressor. All these must be considered

before behaviour can be seen as maltreatment. On the other hand,

Sibling rivalry consists of mutual disagreement over resources in the

family such as house hold chores, competition for parental attention and

meager resources. While sibling maltreatment consist of one sibling

assuming the role of an aggressor in relation to another sibling, aimed at

controlling and humiliating the other sibling (Richards, 2007). Sibling

maltreatment can occur in three categories.

2.1 Types of Sibling Maltreatment

Sibling maltreatment occurs in various forms. The categories as listed by

Levy (2005); Wiehe (2000); Osolu (2008) and Caffaro and Con-Caffaro

(1998) are physical, emotional and sexual maltreatment.

Physical maltreatment-Osolu (2008) sees physical maltreatment as a

deliberate attempt by one sibling to consistently harm the other, which

involves physical injury which may include the use of instrument

resulting in injuries. It Is defined as when one member of the sibling pair

deliberately and repetitively causes physical harm to the other member,

such as inflicting harm by hitting, slapping , kicking, biting, scratching,

22

and hair pulling and so on (Caffaro and Con- Caffaro, 1998).According to

Wiehe (2000) physical sibling maltreatment is regarded as willful acts

resulting in physical injury. Such injuries include punching, hitting,

biting, kicking or more violent behaviour that may include the use of an

instrument such as stick, bats, belts, broom. It can be more severe such

as using gun or knife, handles, hangers, belts, knives, riffles, broken

bottles, razor blades, and scissors to inflict injury and pain on the other

sibling. Ubochi (2007) in a study of patterns of sibling maltreatment in

Northern Nigeria found that eight out of every ten secondary school

students have used a weapon on his or her sibling within three months

prior to the date of study.

Simoneli, Mullis, Eliot and Pierce (2002) found that physical sibling

violence is the most common form of intimate violence in the United

States of America. The study showed that approximately two thirds of

120 college students experienced physical violence from a sibling and

3.4% reported being threatened by a sibling with a knife or gun within

the period of one year. In another survey of family violence in South East

Nigeria by Osolu (2008), result showed that 80 percent of children

between the ages of 3 and 17 years had hit a brother or sister and more

than half have engaged in severe acts of violence such as punching,

kicking, stabbing or hitting with an object. Haskin (2003) found a strong

association between sibling physical maltreatment and subsequent

experiences of violence in dating relationships later in life. Kiselica and

Richards (2007) asserted that severity and method for sibling physical

maltreatment change over time with age. Daniel (2005) pointed out that

children under the age of 8 years tend to use physical violence to deal

with conflict over responsibilities and social obligations. Steinmetzs

23

(2000) reported a high probability of physically maltreated children

experiencing additional maltreatment later in life, if there is no

intervention. Leader (2005) categorized physical maltreatment in

different forms such as: Most common forms-like= Hitting, stoning, and

kicking. (2) Unusual form: As -Tickling, choking with pillow, using knife

or short gun on a brother or sister, stabbing with broken bottles, using

objects like belts, hair brushes and hangers. These are also very

common forms in our society presently.

Psychological or Emotional maltreatment

According to Wiehe (2000) emotional maltreatment is more prevalent and

potentially more destructive than other forms of sibling maltreatment

and often precedes physical and sexual maltreatment. It is difficult to

document because of absence of physical evidence that can be found in

physical and sometimes sexual maltreatment. Wiehe (2000) defined

emotional maltreatment as a verbal comment aimed at ridiculing ,

insulting, threatening or belittling a sibling or the destruction of a

personal property or prized possession or pet of another sibling .Whipple

and Finton (1995) described emotional sibling maltreatment as words

and actions that express contempt and degradation which deprives the

victim of a sense of self worth. In a study of 150 adult survivors of

sibling maltreatment, Red (2003) documented that 78% of the

participants experienced emotional maltreatment, including numerous

and often cruel forms of emotional maltreatment such as belittling,

intimidating, scorning, provoking, destroying, possessing, torturing and

killing of pet. Similarly, Hardy (2001) found a connection between

experiencing emotional maltreatment as a child and developing habit

24

disorder, conduct disorders, neurotic traits, psychoneurotic reactions,

lag in development and attempting to commit suicide in adulthood. Levy

(2005) stated that victims of emotional sibling maltreatment tend to have

lower self esteem. Canola and schifts (2001) studied the effects of

psychological maltreatment on children, the hypotheses tested children

from homes prone to psychological violence. Data was collected from one

hundred and eighty (180) children who were from two hundred and sixty

five (265) dysfunctional homes in Southern Carolina, USA. Ninety one

percent (91%) of the participants were found to feel unwanted, inferior,

unloved and inadequate.

Ubochi (2007) carried out a survey of one hundred and seventy (170)

survivors of emotional maltreatment from one hundred and twenty five

(125) different homes in Benue state, Kaduna and Niger states. The

samples were interviewed, majority were females (95%) with a mean age

of twenty- one (21) years. The result showed that those maltreated in

form of name calling and degrading comments, reflected poor self esteem

in the images they have of their bodies. The survivors agreed that the

maltreatment left them feeling inferior, inadequate and worthless.

Similarly Whelan (2003) refers to emotional sibling maltreatment

generally as rejection, primitive and erratic discipline, scape- goating,

ridicules, chaotic family environment or the use of excessive threats in

an attempt to control a brother or sister by another. Kiselica (2007)

stated that emotional maltreatment is more difficult to identify because

accepted legal standard do not exist for proving that emotional problems

resulted from the emotional maltreatment or for determining its

seriousness. Thus on the surface, a family may appear to be functioning

well psychologically but within the family, children may be emotionally

25

maltreating another. Studies (Wiehe, 2000 & Levy, 2005) on the

incidences of emotionally maltreated adolescents showed that such

maltreatment not only go unreported but also undetected by parents.

Ilechukwu (2006) studied a volunteer sample of two hundred and forty

four (244) survivors of emotional maltreatment by siblings. The mean

age of onset of emotional maltreatment was 4.3 years. The result

revealed that ninety two percent (92%) of siblings are repeatedly

emotionally maltreated by sibling every twenty four hours. Nzelu (2008)

reported that problems children encounter in the homes play devastating

roles in the emotional development of such children.

This is because the world and the security a child feels is centered on his

or her relationship with sibling at home, peers in the neighborhood and

school. Children necessarily want to be liked and valued by their siblings

and friends but when the siblings repeatedly degrade or humiliate the

other, obviously such child‟s sense of self esteem and dignity are

attacked and the child is said to be emotionally maltreated (Levy, 2005).

According to Wiehe (2000) in reality, it is difficult to separate emotional

maltreatment from physical and sexual maltreatment. Several forms of

maltreatment occurred in interaction with each other and the ultimate

impact of any kind is on the psychological and social well being of the

child. In a sample of one hundred and twenty seven (127) sibling

maltreated survivors, nine persons indicated that they had only been

emotionally maltreated, but one hundred and eighteen (118) persons

indicated they had been emotionally, physically and sexually maltreated.

One reason could be that the wound from psychological or emotional

maltreatment may heal quickly and physically there may be little or no

26

damage. The ultimate maltreatment is psychological; in view of this it

still remained unnoticed and unreported in our society. (Whelan, 2003).

Forms of emotional maltreatment-. Rogers (2000) classified the

various forms of behaviour comprising emotional or psychological

maltreatment as:

Name calling- Name calling generally focused on some attributes of the

victim such as his or her height, weight, physical characteristics,

intelligence, inability to perform a task and the likes. For example,

names like Shorty, Orobo, (fatty) Lekpa, (Skinny), Olodo, (Empty head),

Ode (Fool) Mumu (Imbecile) respectively. Here, the perpetrator uses

name calling as a way to belittle or degrade the victim. For example, my

sister will verbally harass me, “ you are ode, worthless and a pig”.

Ridicule -These are words or actions used by a perpetrator to express

contempt often along with laughter directed against the victim. Example-

my sister called me “rotten tooth, elephant, orobo” and laughed at me in

the presence of my friends because I am overweight.

Degradation -This is a type of emotional maltreatment aimed at

depriving the individual of his sense of self worth and dignity. Example-

My brother will always tell me, “you look too ugly to be called my sister, I

don‟t want you to be identified with me,” he would tell others to laugh at

me. „

Sexual maltreatment

Sibling sexual maltreatment or incest seems to be a common form of

sexual violence in Nigeria but rarely reported (Ubochi, 2007).It is defined

as sexual behaviour between siblings that is not age appropriate, not

27

transitory and not motivated by developmentally appropriate curiosity

(Caffaro and Con-Caffaro, 1998).It is not limited to intercourse, it

involves unwanted sexual advances, sexual leers and forcing a brother

or sister to view pornographic materials which can have as much impact

on the victims as actual intercourse .Wiehe (1997) defined sibling sexual

maltreatment as inappropriate sexual contact such as unwanted

touching, fondling, indecent exposure, attempted penetration,

intercourse and rape between brothers and sisters. Hardy (2001) stated

that sexual contact between siblings is generally considered abusive

when there is a large age difference between the siblings and such

activities go beyond normal exploration to include oral – genital contact

or intercourse.

Finkelhor (1995) in a study of 23 siblings sexually maltreated

adolescents, found shat sibling sexual maltreatment frequently but not

always include force or coercion by older or more powerful brothers or

sisters. Caffaro and Con- Caffaro (1998) confirmed that sexual

maltreatment may not appear to be forced but may be based on coercion

or manipulation. This shows that both siblings may engage willingly in

the behaviour as an attempt to cope with unmet needs for affection and

affiliation denied them by parents. The sexual contact here is usually not

limited to developmentally appropriate transitory activity (that is the

result of normal curiosity). Daniels (2005) opined that sexual

maltreatment may continue over an extended period and may not involve

physical touching. Non- contact sexual maltreatment also known as

“hands off abuse” include sexual references in conversation, indecent

exposure, forcing a sibling to observe another‟s sexual behaviour, taking

pornographic pictures of the sibling or forcing a sibling to view-

28

pornographic materials which may produce harmful effects on children.

According to Kiselica (2007) three major reasons may account for sibling

sexual maltreatment such as - when a pubertal brother uses his younger

and less experienced sister for sexual experimentation. Secondly, when a

socially inept or parentally neglected brother, substitutes a sister for

unavailable female peer or for lack of nurturance. More so, when a

brother who may be much older and who himself may have been

physically or sexually maltreated forces a sister into sexual activity

through violence and coercion.

O‟Brien (2001) studied the characteristics of one hundred and seventy

(70) adolescents‟ male sexual victims who have been referred for

evaluation and treatment to an outpatient mental health clinic. The

victims were subdivided into three groups such as sibling sexual victims,

child molesters‟ victims and non child molester victims. When compared,

the sibling sexually maltreated victims have longer often scary

experiences because their abusers engaged in more intrusive sexual

behaviour such as vaginal penetration. Brien (2001) concluded that this

was because the sibling victim is easily available to the perpetrator and

the content of secrecy in which the sexual maltreatment occurs in the

family prevents early disclosure. Another reason could be that incest is

commonly understood to mean illicit sexual activity between family

members including brothers and sisters but the meaning of physical and

emotional maltreatment are not commonly understood by the society.

Levy (2005) and Melnick (2000) suggested that it may be due to the

trauma from sexual maltreatment which may be more severe than the

trauma from physical or emotional maltreatment which may cause

victims to more readily seek treatment. In a review of eighty (80)

29

randomly sampled community survey of both men and women regarding

sexual maltreatment during childhood. Hanoski (2000) found a much

higher percentage (75%) of males who have been sexually violated.

Appropriately 2.5% of women were sexually violated, but for every twenty

(20) men among two hundred ninety nine (299) victims seventy one

percent (71%) were violated. Wiehe (1997) stated that the victims of

sibling sexual maltreatment encounter a lot of debilitating effects and

exhibit problems with organismic functioning, Low self esteem, suicide

attempts and repeated victimization are all after effects of sibling sexual

maltreatment. The result also found that these victims experienced

difficulty forming relationship with their sibling in adulthood. Evidence

abounds in our society that all these are happening behind our closed

doors and parents and significant others are under reporting and

minimizing it (Ubochi, 2007 and Osolu, 2007).

2.2 Causes of Sibling Maltreatment

Caffaro and Con- Caffaro (1998) stated that sibling maltreatment is the

product of multiple factors and interactions involving the victim, the

perpetrator and the family environment. Such complex factors

encompassed psychological, social, individual and systematic

characteristics, why sibling maltreatment may occur. Such as parental

unavailability and lack of adequate supervision of children in homes.

Where parents work long hours, they are not always present to take

care of the children, they may be emotionally overwhelmed, suffer from

protracted illnesses, or lack parenting skills needed to attend to their

children‟s needs. This does not mean that sibling maltreatment occurs in

every family with unavailable parent, rather it happens when parents fail

30

in their supervising roles and their older children become stand-ins for

them. Hanoski (2000) insisted that such increased access between

siblings is a risk factor for the development of incestuous sibling

relationships. Another systematic factor implicated by Ubochi (2007) is

the differential treatment of children in the same family. In such

families, parents place children in comparative categories, often labeling

them, such as the “smart one”, “the lazy one” also develop favorites

within them and extend praises or lavish attention on the preferred

child. The preferred child is often targeted for maltreatment by others

where they express anger and aggression. The favored child may become

violent towards other siblings due to his power, level of protection and

status in the family.

Levy (2005) pointed out that a common cause focused on the abuse of

power where powerful siblings maltreat the less powerful ones, power

imbalances and role rigidity are also risk factors. Furthermore, Nzelu

(2002) discovered poorly defined boundaries, due to inability of families

to form healthy and flexibly boundaries. Hence one sibling repeatedly

violates another‟s physical, social and psychological spaces. Also

parental bonds which wither as often as men separate with or divorce

their spouses, such that parents become over whelmed by their own

problems and become ignorant of what is happening between their

children is also a risk factor. Caffaro and Con- Caffaro (1998) further

claimed that family stress factors such as parents coping with alcohol

problems, mental illness and marital difficulties are problems that

interfere in the homes. O‟ Brien (2004) in a review of data on sexual

victimization hinted that children with unmet needs due to dysfunctional

family structures seek to fulfill their needs through engaging in sibling

31

incest. Wiehe (2000) found constant and repeated exposure to violence,

dysfunctional and disorganized families and lack of supervision as

causes of sibling maltreatment. According to Kristin (2001) some

parental maladaptive behaviour can promote sibling maltreatment such

as inappropriate parental responses, minimizing or ignoring the abuse,

parents who blame or act indifferently to report of abuse by other

children. Ubochi (2007) stressed that conflict over the number of

material resources available at home may heighten stress among siblings

which may in turn evoke maltreatment. Dinkmeyer, Mckay and

Dinkmeyer (1997) associated conflict avoidant and the conflict

amplifying parenting styles with sibling maltreatment. The conflict

avoidant parents negotiate for their children as opposed to facilitating

the development of skills that eventually will render the children

incapable of reaching their own solutions.

While the conflict amplifying parents encouraged conflicts by indirectly

supporting conflicts as a means of resolving disputes between siblings.

Both parenting style are termed ineffective and can contribute to sibling

maltreatment at home. Gordons (2002) and Taylor (2004) suggested the

powerful or authoritative parenting style which is found to be high in

competence, support and control may be better where families show

clear boundaries, adequate separation and autonomy between and

among siblings, thereby frictions which can lead to maltreatment will be

reduced. Osolu (2008) supported that the structure of the family may be

held responsible as a major predictor of abusive and maladaptive

behaviour in the home. Moin (2005) further associated the family

configurations such as the two parent family where parents relinquish

their responsibilities to the children. Secondly, the single parent family

32

where parents are not always available and the senior child becomes

pseudo- parent, furthermore the step sibling family where families are

reconstructed due to failed marriages, here remarried parents bring in

their children together to form sibling relationship, and this may lead to

a lot of competition and jealousy that may degenerate in to

maltreatment. Ejiogu (2000) confirmed that the present nature of

Nigerian economy has led to decrease in income in some homes, were

both parents now work. Lacks of adequate child care alternatives and

increasing cost of life have led to parents swapping roles with their

children. In the face of all these problems, the children are now often

used as pseudo- parents, baby sitters and in some homes income

providers. They play care taking roles as viable alternatives for many of

these families.

Kiselica (2007) asserted that pseudo- parent sibling families motivate

maltreatment typically because neither parent is reliably at home to

control the children. Wartella & Jenning (2001) claimed that such

responsibilities isolated the children from their parents and did not allow

them the luxury of fulfilling their own needs, therefore concluded that its

consequences made the pseudo- parent sibling more frustrated. This

frustration, they now mated on their other siblings in form of

maltreatment. Lyness (2005) warned that this situation is hurtful and

very challenging to the developmental stage of the children.

Consequently, the children develop numerous social and psychological

problems. Similarly, Schaefer (2004) noted that Single parent family,

after divorce, separation or death, generally evolve into temporary

environment of decreased care, increased democracy and greater

likelihood that parent and child will nurture, support and stabilize one

33

another. Bellack and Antel (2001) found that most cases of brother and

sister incest occurred in fatherless homes were an elder brother had

been elevated to fatherly role and thus exercise considerable power on

other children in the family. This heightens the likelihood of sibling

maltreatment in that family. Similarly, Illechukwu (2006) found that

increase in divorce has also led to increase in remarried and

reconstituted families, which also have led to increase in step sibling

families in Nigeria and consequent maltreatment by children of diverse

background brought together as siblings.

2.3 Criteria for Establishing the Existence of sibling Maltreatment

in Homes.

Several other conditions are present in families in which sibling

maltreatment occur. Children may develop assaultive relationship as a

result of problems among family members. Wiehe (1997) and Caffaro and

Con-Caffaro (1998) pointed out that certain criteria must be established

to be able to define the presence of sibling maltreatment accurately such

as:

Criterion One: Is the behaviour age appropriate? According to

Wiehe (1997) some behavioural interactions between siblings are

not age appropriate and should be considered as maltreatment.

For example- A 9 year old boy destroys his 2 year old sister’s dress

by cutting the length, tearing off the arm or throwing it into the fire. A

10 year old girl composes a song about her 6 year old younger

brother who is overweight. The words make fun of him and call him

"Orobo”. She sings this song whenever she is around him and in

front of his friends. Another 16 year old boy fondles the genital of

34

his 4 year old sister behind the bed in the room". The analyses of the

above maltreatment patterns portray three types of behaviour: The

destruction of a dress, ridicule through name calling and sexual

fondling. This behaviour should be viewed in the light of the ages of

the perpetrators to be able to determine if they are age appropriate

behaviour or not.

Story 1: The 9 year old boy should have learned by his age to respect

the property of other children and not to destroy them. Therefore, the

behaviour is not age appropriate.

Likewise in story 2: The 10 year old girl engaged in this teasing in the

presence of her brothers peers which is humiliating, this is also not age

appropriate.

Story 3: A 16 year old boy fondling the genitals of his younger sister is

not an appropriate behaviour at any age. At age 16, a boy should be

aware of sexual differences between boys and girls and differences

between good touches and secret touches. More so, the fact that the

behaviour occurred in a clandestine setting, implies that the perpetrator

has some awareness that the behaviour is inappropriate. Equally, the

younger child is too young to decide whether she wishes to participate or

not. These are all maltreatment to their siblings (Wiehe, 2000; Levy,

2005; Caffaro & Con- Caffaro, 1998).

Criterion 2: the Survivors subjective Perception

This is an important criterion in establishing the presence of

maltreatment. According to Wiehe (1997) These are individuals who

perceived themselves as being picked on a lot by one sibling in

35

particular,. In Wiehe's opinion, such individuals often try to help

themselves but are prevented by circumstances from escaping or

relieving their victimization on each occasion. They try to defend

themselves from punches and slaps or try to ignore the insults, but no

matter what they did, they could not stop the behaviour, the

maltreatment continued. These are victims of their own siblings.

Criterion 3: How often and how long has the behaviour been

occurring?

Levy (2005) stated that occasional hitting or degrading comments may

not qualify as maltreatment. Fighting, name calling, teasing and even

some sexual exploration between siblings at some time or another may

be considered normal sibling rivalry or simple sexual curiosity .An

example is, a mother notices that her three year old daughter is always

fascinated by looking at his baby brother‟s genital when they are

bathing. The three year old girl seems very curious about the genital

area and always questions and wonders why they have different shapes.

This observation and questioning by the three year old is normal and

can be regarded as sexual curiosity. Haskin (2003) posits that frequency

and duration of behaviour may turn a non- abusive behaviour into an

abusive one. When a behaviour pattern occurs over a period of time such

as when fighting, name calling, teasing and sexual exploration occur

frequently over a long period of time between sibling the behaviour

becomes abusive especially if the perpetrator was asked to stop but did

not. Wiehe (2000) warned that single occurrence of a potentially abusive

behaviour between siblings such as sexual activity should not be

minimized. Hanoski (2000) further stated that single sexual

36

maltreatment by a sibling is enough to be tagged maltreatment because

it‟s effects on the emotions of the maltreated are serious and may affect

the individual into adulthood. Sarwer & Durlak (1996) investigated three

hundred and fifty nine (359) married adult women survivors who sought

sex therapy with their spouses, result showed that about 72% of these

women had experienced sexual abuse only once as a child . Further

studies (Hardy, 2001 and Moin, 2006) also indicate that an unusual

high percentage of both male and female prostitutes reported being

sexually abused only once as children. However, Wiehe (1997) stated

that it is difficult to determine a definite period of times or number of

occurrence which will be helpful, but suggested that parents, caregivers

and significant others should use their common sense to determine.

Particularly when they begin to feel uncomfortable about certain

behaviour, that it should be a prelude to intervene. If the criterion

indicates that the behaviour is normal but parents feel uncomfortable

about the behaviour, the safest approach may be to regard the behaviour

as potentially abusive and to intervene appropriately.

Criterion 4: What is the Purpose or intent of the behaviour?

Another criterion to consider in distinguishing abusive behaviour from

normal behaviour is the motivation of one sibling to engage in behaviour

with another sibling. What is the purpose of the behaviour? The intent

of the act by one sibling on the other has to be considered as important

criterion to determine if the behaviour should be regarded as

maltreatment. According to Rogers (2001) certain lead questions should

be asked and answered for you to be able to pin down maltreatment,

such as- was the effect severe or threatening to the victim?, was the

37

intent to humiliate or belittle or harm the victims? Further questions

such as was the emotional impact on the sibling victim devastating or

harmful? If the answers to the above questions are yes, then typical

cases of sibling maltreatment occur. Roger (2001) further stated that in

most instances of emotional maltreatment by a sibling, the purpose is to

belittle the victim with name calling or ridiculing. This behaviour is

destructive and thereby should be regarded as abusive.

Levy (2005) streamlined the criterion as when an older sibling generally

a male, sexually abuses a sibling for the purpose of achieving sexual

gratification, the purpose of the behaviour is not observation but sexual

pleasure and can also be regarded as maltreatment. Equally, when a

perpetrator receives sexual satisfaction by viewing or touching a younger

sibling‟s genitals , the individual who was the target of this behaviour

was victimized and the behaviour was age inappropriate and as such all

the instances must be regarded as maltreatment. In some incidents of

sexual maltreatment, children may be requested or forced to engage in

sexual activity because it gives a third party sexual gratification. Again

older siblings may encourage two younger siblings to engage in sexual

play while the older sibling watches. In these instances, the behaviour is

maltreatment because of the purpose of the perpetrator to humiliate the

victim (Osolu, 2008).

Criterion 5: Is there an Aspect of Victimization in the Behaviour

Children who were abused by a fellow sibling are regarded as victims of

their sibling‟s actions. According to Wiehe (2005) they are victims- the

targets of their siblings, physical assaults, and the object of their sibling

sexual maltreatment. An individual in the victim‟s role, especially those

38

sexually violated by a sibling may have been placed in that victim‟s role

because of their powerlessness. Ubochi (2000) asserted that they may be

enticed or threatened to participate in sexual activity. These victims

often had little choices but to accept their sibling's sexual demands,

because they felt there was nothing else they could do. They were taken

advantage of or not mature enough to realize what was happening. In an

abusive situation, a victim who is an unwilling participant may not even

be able to give or withhold consent.

Following these, Levy (2005) confirmed that the fact that a victim

participates in an activity does not mean that this participation was

voluntary. The child may be unable to verbally consent to an older

sibling's sexual advances because he or she is simply too young.For

example, a 9 year old child is not able to protest her older brother's

sexual explorations, like wise a mentally retarded or emotionally

disturbed adolescent who is continually made an object of jokes and

ridicule by a sibling, may also not be able to fend off these verbal

assaults. Dickson (1999) further hinted that question of whether an

individual is being victimized can often be determined by assessing how

the perpetrator gained access to the individual. If access was gained

through game playing, trickery, deceit, bribery or force, the person who

is the object of the behaviour is a victim .For example – “A 5 year old girl

is bribed with sweet by an older brother to go into a dog cage built at the

back of the house, when she gets there, she is asked to remove her pants

and expose herself, she was put in a victim’s role and

maltreated.”Secondly, another indication of victimization is the emotion

surrounding a behaviour which the sibling feels. A child called a name

by a brother or a sister may experience embarrassment or hurt, the

39

emotional reaction of the person who is being called the name is an

important clue to whether he or she is being put into a victim‟s role and

maltreated. Finally, Wiehe (2000) further pointed out another important

criterion which is that- one sibling must assume the role of an aggressor

in relation to the other. This means that one sibling must amongst a

sibling subsystem always be a perpetrator in relation to the others.

Wiehe, (2005) reaffirmed that it is difficult to determine where normal

developmental behaviour between siblings end and the abuse starts, if

these criteria are not strictly taken into cognizance.

2.4 Symptoms of Sibling Maltreatment

Sibling maltreatment has to be detected to be able to help prevent the

problem. Therefore it is imperative that parents, caregiver and significant

others should look out for these symptoms to help prevent the problem.

When maltreatment is occurring, these symptoms are likely to manifest

in the Individual and many more (Wiehe, 1997).

Feeling of worthlessness, low self esteem and low self image.

Bruises or marks on the body that the child excuses or cannot

explain.

Withdrawal- preferring to be alone rather than with siblings or

friends.

A sense of sadness or depression that may be evidenced in low

energy level of withdrawal.

Clinging behaviour for example when the mother is going out he or

she always wants to follow.

40

Fear of being left in the care of other siblings.

Sexual self consciousness, feeling of shame about the body.

Persistent and inappropriate sexual play with peers, toys or self.

Shyness, fearfulness, mistrustfulness.

Overly complaint behaviour at home or at school.

Sudden change in school performance.

Nightmares or other sleep disturbances.

Unexplained fears, regressive behaviour such as bed wetting and

soiling.

Genital or anal injury or bleeding.

Genital itching or pain.

Turned or stained clothing.

Wiehe (2000) stated that the list is not exhaustive, that there may be

other symptoms of sibling maltreatment, especially when it has to do

with sexual maltreatment. Also suggested that change in a child‟s

normal behaviour may also be a sign, hence parents should use their

discretion to intervene.

Characteristics of Sibling Rivalry & Sibling Maltreatment

Caffaro & Con- Caffaro (1998) stated that sibling rivalry is normal and

universal and has substantial benefits to sibling development and also

drew a logical distinction between maltreatment and normal rivalry as

41

follows:

Sibling Rivalry

Sibling rivalry is normal mutual conflict between siblings over family

resources, parental care, parental love and quarrel over household

chores. Osolu (2007) conflict between siblings in which the reward is

possession of something that the other also wants, which fizzles out the

moment the aim is achieved .These conflicts between siblings are most

times fierce but balanced with regard to achievement, attractiveness and

social relationship that strengthens sibling relationships with peers

(Caffaro and Con- Caffaro, 1998).To Ekiran (2003) it is inevitable

jealousy between brothers and sisters. Enebuwa-Okoh (2011) sees it as

mutual antagonism which creates jealousy and unhealthy competition

among sibling which results to maltreatment if left unchecked.

Sibling Maltreatment.

A repeated pattern of physical, emotional or sexual aggression

directed toward a sibling with the intention to inflict harm and

motivated by an internal emotional need for power and control.

Aggression directed towards a sibling that aims at leaving the other

sibling feeling humiliated defeated and or unsafe.

Escalating patterns of sibling aggression and retaliation that

parents seem unwilling or unable to stop. The main difference lies

in the fact that in sibling rivalry, the relationship is mutual while

in sibling maltreatment, one child must assume the role of an

aggressor.

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2.5 Psychosocial problems of victims of sibling maltreatment.

Psychosocial problems –The term psycho-social reflect intimate

relationship between psychological, social and developmental conditions

the victims of sibling maltreatment encounter (Simoneli, 2002).

According to Ubochi (2007) Children who are maltreated by brothers or

sisters encounter difficulties such as depression, anxiety, low self –

esteem, faulty family interaction, feeling shame, nightmares and

embarrassment. Sibling maltreated children suffer pain several

researchers (Osolu, 2007 and Enebuwa-Okoh,2011) provided

descriptions of the immediate effects of sibling maltreatment on another.

Wiehe (2000) carried out a 7 year old longitudinal study of three

hundred and seventy five (375) subjects who had experienced physical

and sexual maltreatment, the subjects were below age 15.

The result showed that maltreated subjects as compared to the non

maltreated counter parts demonstrated significant impairment in

functioning both at age 15 and 21, including depression, anxiety,

emotional behavioural problems, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts.

Similarly, Caffaro and Con-Caffaro (1998) took a behaviour study of

ninety three (93) pre- pubertal children evaluated for sibling sexual

violence and eighty (80) non maltreated children. The subjects were

examined using the child Behaviour check list, approximately four

months after the sexually maltreated children had been clinically seen

for the maltreatment. Result showed that the sexually violated children

had significantly more behaviour problems than the non violated

comparison group of the children. The problems include depression,

sleep and somatic complaints, hyperactivity and sexual problems. To

43

Finkelhor (2001) all these psychosocial effects on the children may

potentially affect their interpersonal relationships and the whole concept

of life and living, if no effective interventions are done. Wiehe (1997)

observed that adolescents who are maltreated by siblings tend to

experience hostility and depression and are vulnerable to suffer multiple

harmful psychosexual problems. Mosa (2000) found that the overall

trend on measures of general intelligence, academic language and social

skills of victims of sibling maltreatment are generally lower. Parachin

(2001) observed that victims of sibling maltreatment become very

unfriendly were unable to form appropriate family relationship due to

inappropriate social interaction.

While Hanoski (2000) asserted that anger is inevitable whenever a

person is a victim of sibling maltreatment. Unfortunately, some victims

generally manage their anger ineffectively which include silent

submission, this may lead to some psychosocial problems. Levy (2005)

pointed out that victims of sibling maltreatment suffer immense feeling

of guilt, self blame and the stigma which may linger into adulthood for

individuals sexually maltreated by siblings and as children it may also

influence their adult psychosocial adjustment by affecting their core

beliefs, about their self worth as a person. Ubochi (2007) reported that

victims stay longer with feelings of self blame and worthlessness, which

may result in heightened level of psychosocial problems and warned that

physically and sexually maltreated children may have significantly more

behaviour problems including depression, anxiety, sexual problems and

display severe developmental problems. Parachin (2001) discovered that

anxiety and depression co- occur in victims of sibling maltreatment with

anxiety preceding depression. Beck and Stanley (1997) corroborated

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that this is because at the point of maltreatment, the victim suffers high

level of anxious arousal which weakens the neural structures

responsible for the production of mood swinging bio chemicals and the

resulting deficit, triggers depressive moods. Troggat (2005) also

confirmed that anxiety and depression have overlapping cognitive

components and may have the potentials of affecting the adolescent life

course and development, if no effective interventions are considered. In a

study of depression and anxiety among one hundred and two (112)

sexually abused college students, Craighead and Craighead (1998) found

gender differences in the experience of depression.

The relationship of the victim‟s depression to sibling maltreatment is

also relevant. Simond and Whiffen (2003) reported that gender had an

influence on anxiety and that anxiety and depression have many

cognitive components in common which can lead to certain symptoms

on the victims such as confusion, impaired memory and difficulties in

decision making. Hendesoil (2000) studied 92 survivors of sibling

maltreatment and found that whether a survivor of physical, emotional

or sexual maltreatment, all referred to poor self esteem and concluded

that low self esteem appears to be a universal effect of sibling

maltreatment. Furthermore, Briere and Runtz (1990) did a study of the

effects of psychological maltreatment on sibling the result shows that the

children ended up feeling unwanted, inferior, unloved and inadequate.

These symptoms they suggested can affect the psychosocial development

of the victims. Swan and Swan (2003) similarly observed that severe and

psychosocial effects of sibling maltreatment can be long term, as the

victims engaged in abusive family relationship and learned helplessness.

Wright (2002) reported adverse psychosocial effects on the victims‟

45

relationships, concept of trust and identity, sexual development, self

esteem and career. Wiehe (2000) linked the long term effects of sibling

maltreatment to low self esteem, involvement in abusive family

relationships, compulsive self denigration, promiscuity and identity

problem. Silverman (1996) stated that females who are abused by sibling

before age 15 manifest signs of somatic complains, anxiety, faulty family

interaction, lower academic performance, depression , social thoughts

and attention problems. The older individual exhibited post traumatic

stress disorder, antisocial behaviour and alcohol abuse. In this study,

the psychosocial problems highlighted are- anxiety, depression, low self

esteem and faulty family relationships.

Anxiety

Anxiety is an emotion experienced by all. It is manifested in cognitive

thoughts, motoric, physical and affective reactions. Human beings for

one reason or the other become anxious from time to time. Anxiety is

more future oriented, universal and global referring to the state in which

an individual is inordinately apprehensive, tensed and uneasy about the

prospect of something terrible happening. (Halgin and Whiteborune

2000). Anxiety has both cognitive and affective components. Anxiety in

moderation may serve some positive functions, it may energize you to

overcome obstacles and perform more positive functions. Anxiety

becomes a source of clinical concern when it reaches an intense level

that interferes with the ability to function in daily life .According to Sue

and Sue (2000) anxiety is an affective variable that includes the feeling of

being uneasy, tensed, worried or apprehensive about what might

happen. This feeling is produced by defective thoughts. Moin (2006)

46

defined anxiety as a very disagreeable and in most situation ambiguous

feeling which comes with unwanted change in our physical situation

such as dizziness, extreme perspiration, shaking and others. As

upsetting as any of these experiences may be, it would not be considered

as abnormal functioning because it is our natural response to

threatening and pressing situation (Halgin and Whiteborune 2000).

People who suffer anxiety feeling are unable to function on a day to day

basis. Anxiety is unpleasant and makes it difficult for the sufferer to

enjoy many ordinary situations rather they try to avoid situations that

make them anxious.

It is a feeling similar to fear. But fear refers to an innate biologically

based alarm response to a dangerous life threatening situation (Barlow,

1994). While fear is based on real danger, anxiety is caused by an

ambiguous or imaginary danger (Moin 2006). Anxiety is future oriented

and anticipatory and there is also evidence that anxiety can be learned

(Sue and Sue, 2000). According to Seligman (2001) anxiety has cognitive,

somatic, emotional and behavioural properties. Its cognitive property will

ginger an individual into expectation of uncertain danger; somatically

the body prepares to deal with the threat with some signs such as

sweating and trembling.

Emotionally the sufferer experiences panic, behaviorally it causes both

voluntary and involuntary behaviour directed as escaping or avoiding the

source of anxiety. Childhood is particularly an impressionable period for

exposure to anxiety. Researchers (Seligman, 2001 and Moin, 2006)

found evidence suggesting that anxiety in childhood can have long

lasting emotional effects. Kilpatrick and Williams (1997) studied one

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hundred and fifty six (156) children who had been severally maltreated

by their siblings and found that many of the children continued to show

signs of anxiety years after being separated from their abusive siblings.

However, they are of the opinion that not all females who experienced

traumatic events will suffer long term psychological consequences. On

the other hand, many traumatic events occur in the center of serious

social and family disturbances such as sibling maltreatment which may

be psychologically damaging.

Halgin and Whitebourne (2000) suggested that maltreatment is likely to

touch the core of an individual‟s psyche and have residual effects in

many spheres of his life. Parachin (2001) asserted that sibling

maltreatment with its trauma can lead to experience that can shatter the

individual‟s basic belief about the self and the world. The victims tend to

believe that the family is no longer safe, predictable and

understandable.Parachin (20001) concluded that with experience of

trauma such as sibling maltreatment, anxiety sets in and leads to

problems such as loneliness, low self esteem and depression, these can

touch the deepest level of personality functioning and result in effect

that last a life time without effective intervention. Such anxiety is

maintained through operant conditioning. When an individual

experiences an event associated with traumatic experience, socially

anxious children tend to become isolated because they are unable to

develop a normal friendship with other children. According to

preparedness theory, phobias like anxiety are based on built in

predisposition to fear certain stimuli that were dangerous to our primate

ancestors. Simoneli and Whitten (2003) studied an indicated programme

targeting anxiety symptoms with one hundred and forty eight (148)

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children aged 9- 14 years. Children were identified for participation

either by teachers nominating them based on scores. Schools were

randomly assigned to intervention condition or to a monitoring only

control group. Assessment included parent report of child behaviour and

structured interview. Ten weekly one to two hours group sessions of five

to twelve children led by a trained clinical psychologist formed the first

group, one to two graduate students and three parental sessions (child

management skills) formed the second and the third groups.

At seven months there was no group difference on self report measures.

Moin (2006) studied the treatment of anxiety on relaxation techniques,

with the choice of yoga which is based on physical, mental and deep

relaxation exercise. His population consisted of nine hundred (900) non

yogi men and one thousand two hundred (1200) yogi men from three

yoga clubs. Thirty (30) participants were chosen from each group using

random sampling. The age group of participants was 25-35. Participants

for the study were educated and unmarried, 85% worked with non-

governmental business organization, 14% worked in governmental sector

while 1% of participants were unemployed. Results obtained from the

study given the calculated at 0.05 level of significance were 1.671. The

mean scores for the yoga were 24.166 and standard deviation (SD) of

25.43. For the non yogis, the mean scores were 39.3 and standard

deviation was 41.47. The study revealed that the yogi group evidenced

lower level of anxiety than the non yogi group.

Depression

Depression is an emotional state characterized by intense sadness,

feeling of futility and worthlessness and withdrawal from others. It is

49

prevalent and does not respect age, gender or socio economic status.

Depression is a major element in the affective disorder (Sue, .and Sue

2000).Mood is the most striking symptom of depression, depressives

experience feeling of sadness, dejection, feeling of worthless and loss of

the joy of living. Craighead & Craighead (1998) found that the most

sticking symptom of depression is mood, besides general feeling of

futility, emptiness , giving up, loss of interest, a decrease in energy,

difficult in concentration, loss of motivation all these make it difficult for

depressives to cope with everyday situation. It is also seen as an

internalizing disorder because it is developed and maintained within the

individual.

It is a common occurrence for internalizing disorders like depression,

anxiety, social withdrawal and physical complaints to occur in unison.

In depression, there are many overlapping symptoms. It is also possible

for sibling maltreated children and adolescents to exhibit serious

conduct problems and internalizing symptoms at the same time .Beck

(1997) stated that depression may be reflected in a cognitive triad which

leads to the individual having a negative view of self, the world and

future. Depression is quite common and affects about one in ten people

at the some point. It affects men, women, young and old .Depression can

also strike children. Studies have shown that above 4% of children aged

between 5 and 16 can be affected by depression at any point in time.

According to Beck (1997) the symptoms or characteristics of mild

depression vary. The emotional symptoms involve intensity that

outweighs ordinary occasional sad emotions of everyday life. Depression

may appear as extreme dejection or loss of interest in previously

pleasurable aspects of life. The physical symptoms or somatic symptoms

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involves the depressed experiencing a slowdown of bodily movement

known as psychomotor retardation while some depressed people show

the opposite symptoms known as psychomotor agitation. Eating

disorders are also common, the individual deviates from the usual

appetite pattern either avoiding food or over indulging, they also show

significant changes in their sleeping pattern either sleeping much more

than usual or experiencing insomnia (Halgin and Whitebourne, 2000).

Simoneli (2000) found that the depressed have cognitive symptoms that

include negative self view reflected by low self- esteem and feeling that

they deserved to be punished. They dwell in their past mistakes and

guilt, unable to think clearly and have concentration. They engage in

feeling of hopelessness, worthlessness and negativity (Lynnes, 2005).

Depression is a relatively common psychological disorder. Sue and Sue

(2000) in a study of gender and depression found that women are much

more likely than men to experience depression. Out of every 100 people

approximately 13 men and 21 women develop depression at some point.

According to Whitebourne and Halgin (2000) depression is a

heterogeneous disorder with many possible causes. It could be as a

result of physical disorder or mediatic problem, an imbalance of brain

chemistry or as a result of external events such as loss of loved one or

abuse. Violence in the home and maltreatment by sibling or death of a

loved one can go beyond normal grief and lead to depression. Negative,

stressful and unhappy family environment can affect the self esteem of

the individual and also lead to depression. Social conditions, such as

lack of finances, poverty, violence in the home and community May likely

lead to depression (Kiselica and Richards 2007). When a person has

depression, the person‟s thoughts reflect helplessness and hopelessness,

51

they tend to have negative and self critical thoughts. Depression can

make one feel unloved, worthless and cloud everything in one‟s life

making minor problems look over whelming. However, Wiehe (2005)

stated that Cognitive Behaviour Therapy offers greater promise as

plausible treatment for other psychosocial problems such as depression.

Depressed people do not see bright future ahead; they feel powerless and

may want to give up (Lyness 2005).

Effects of Depression

Depression can affect many aspects of an individual‟s life negatively.

These include Motivation: It affects an individual‟s motivation to do

many things. Such that the depressed feel less motivated, for them

nothing seems worth doing, they experience loss of energy and interest,

and then psychomotor retardation sets in that they find it difficult to

perform the simplest task.

Emotion: The emotions of the individuals are so much affected that they

lack positive feeling, suffer increased negative emotions, anger, anxiety

and fear.

Thinking: The depressed think negatively, generally weak, the people

tend to feel inferior, unwanted, unloved and worthless. Their thoughts

become all or nothing such as we are either a complete success or

failure.

Behaviour: Depressed people engage in less positive activity. Activities

that sparked their interest initially now lack appeal. They tend to do

fewer positive things; feeling of hopelessness can negatively lead to their

becoming consumed by thoughts of death and possibly look for a way of

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escape. Depressed people sometimes feel agitated and find it extremely

difficult to relax. They walk slowly and everything feels heavy.

Physiology: When people become depressed, they tend to have Increase

in the production of adrenalin in the system due to depression.

Social Relationships: Depressed people are irritable, less fun to be with

and find themselves continually saying “No”. They are anxious about

relationships; they fear that conflicts that they are unable to sort out

may arise. Pillory and Mosa (2000) studied the incidence of depression

among black children in a society plagued by psychosocial problems and

violence in Durban, South Africa. Their sample comprised thirty eight

(38) black children whose ages ranged from 5 to 15 years. Each

participant was subjected to a clinical interview, mental state

examination and projective psychological assessment. Findings from

study revealed that low self esteem was one of the stressors that

contributed to the depression. Other stressors included parent conflict,

maltreatment, and child abuse and sibling rivalry. The study pointed out

that childhood depression in African children was under reported. This

could be that parents and significant others were not able to interpret

symptoms. The study demonstrated the importance of the home as a

means of intervention and prevention of depression.

Cognitive Theory of Depression.

Beck (1967) developed the cognitive theory of depression. The theory

stated that the essence of depression is not as a result of low rate of

behaviour, but depressed people react to stressful experiences by

activating a set of thoughts which (Beck, 1967) called the cognitive triad.

They are: The Self, The World and The Future. The depressed sees -

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i. Self-A negative view of self as defective or inadequate.

ii. The world- All experiences are defeats and failures.

iii. Future-The future is hopeless.

Beck (1967) proposed that once the cognitive triad is activated, the

depressive‟s way of viewing the self, the world and the future called the

depressive‟s schema goes through a cyclical process. Here the depressed

looks at the negative side of life even though something good happens,

he interprets it negatively. The depressed individual interprets every

situation according to his schema, which does not allow him to see

anything but problems, hopelessness and inadequacy.

The depressed is pessimistic, has a negative outlook, people around him

at this time become bored and irritated and give up trying to involve him

in any social activities. Thus, the cycle of depression is completed

(Halgin and Whitebourne, 2000). Depressed people engage in cognitive

distortion, they draw erroneous conclusions from their experiences, their

cognition is negatively structured, and their evaluations of events are

unrealistic and illogical which does not correspond to reality. They use

faulty information processing like selective attention to maintain their

negative core schema; this cognitive distortion involves applying illogical

rules such as making arbitrary inferences, jumping to conclusion, over

generalization and taking a detail out of context. The uses of these rules

make the depressed person ascribe negative meaning to past and

present events and make glaring negative prediction about the future.

Most times, the depressed is not even aware of having these thoughts

because they have become constant features of the person‟s existence.

Beck (1967) further stated that the contributory factors to the

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unhappiness of the depressed people are the content of their thoughts;

they feel sad because they believe they are deprived of something

important that threatens their self concept. These dysfunctional

attitudes cause them to assume that they are worthless and helpless.

The depressed distort any feeling including a positive one

(Meril,2001).The consequences of these distortions are that the

depressed experience low feeling of well being, lack energy and desire to

be with others and interest in the environment which contribute to their

depressed effect.

According to Beck‟s (1967) cognitive theory, therapists should use both

Cognitive and Behavioural Techniques to modify the depressed person‟s

core schemas. Once the core schema is modified, the symptoms will

remit. Ayeni (2006) investigated the depressive level of two hundred and

sixty two (262) students and the predictions for their depression. The

depression status inventory (DSI) developed by Zung, (1972) were used

to collect data. Multiple correlation and regression analysis were used to

analyze the data, results showed that females had higher number of

participants with mild and severe depressive levels while more male

participants have moderate depressive levels. There were however, no

significant differences between the sexes. The study found empty life as

a major stressor, other stressors include feeling confused and having

trouble thinking, feeling slowed down, feeling worst and crying spell.

Wiehe (2000) stated that depression is evident in children immediately

after maltreatment has occurred and directly associated depression with

sibling maltreatment. In a study of sample of thirty nine (39) girls aged

between 6 to 12 years who were referred for evaluation for sibling sexual

abuse, sixty seven percent (67%) of the children were classified as

55

experiencing symptoms consistent with diagnosis of depression. The

Severity of the maltreatment was not significantly correlated with

depression intensity scores. The effects of depression were noted in the

victims immediately after the abuse. The adult survivors of sibling

maltreatment were asked to state how they felt. They answered that they

felt terrible, experienced severe depression requiring medication and that

they have seriously considered suicide.

Halgin and Whitebourne (2000) studied a non clinical sample of

university women and found that 15% of those who had had sibling

maltreatment history and child abuse survivors showed greater

depressive symptoms than others. Peter and Range (1998) compared

the histories of fifty two (52) hospitalized incidences of sibling

maltreatment .A depressed group containing thirty nine (39) participants

demonstrated severe depression and sadness which led to suicide

attempts at one time or the other. For every type of sibling maltreatment

studied the percentage of depressives were high of the subjects who had

experienced more than one type of abuse, a significantly greater number

were depressed. These results showed a relationship between childhood

maltreatment and sociality.

Behavioural theory of Depression ( Levison,1985).

This theory according to Levison (1985) holds that the symptoms of

depression are the result of a reduction in positive reinforcement.

According to this theory depressed people withdraw from life because

they no longer have incentives to be active. If an individual lacks a

positive reinforcement to which he has become accustomed, he may

retreat to a depressive state. Secondly, this theory contends that

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deficiency in social skills contribute to depression if a person with poor

interpersonal relationship loses the reinforcement provided by the

attention and interest of other people, the individual is likely to be

depressed. Thirdly, stressful life events can also contribute to

depression. According to behavioural model, because stressful life events

disrupt the individual‟s ability to carry out important and relatively

automatic behaviour patterns .In a nutshell, the behavioural viewpoint

assumes that depression is the result of reduction in positive

reinforcement, deficient social skills or disruption caused by stressful life

experiences.

Another variant to behavioural experience is learned helplessness and

attributes which proposes that depressed people view them as incapable

of having an effect on their environment. Traumatic or negative life

events lead depressed people to attribute their powerlessness to lack of

positive resources. The depressed see the situation as unremitting and

that their powerlessness extends to every aspect of their lives. Merrill

(2001) pointed out that the effective psychosocial intervention for

treatment of depression among children and adolescents are

comprehensive Cognitive Behavior methods of intervention. The

Cognitive component of intervention deals in changing the maladaptive

thinking style of the depressed person to a positive one, while the

behavioral component focuses on increasing positive activities and

behaviour which are likely to increase the amount of social response-

contingent reinforcement available to the depressed child or adolescent.

Here are some key components of psychosocial treatment that are

important in helping depressed children and adolescent cope with

depression as follows:-

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Communication skills: Appropriate communication skills on how to

express feeling and thoughts to others are thoughts.

Emotional education: They are trained to identify and label

pleasant and unpleasant emotions, identify situations where the

emotions are likely to occur and identifying maladaptive cognitive

patterns: This focuses on automatic negative thoughts, also

cognitive changing strategies is usually included

Training in life skills: These include teaching on how to set goals,

problem solving skills, negotiation and conflict resolution. The

comprehensive treatment program plans recommend practicing

appropriate social skills as part of the strategies of treatment.

Medication: Drugs could be used in the case of moderate to severe

depression. Finally, the interpersonal theory connects the behavioural

and cognitively oriented theories and stated that the first step to a

person‟s depression is the person‟s failures in childhood to acquire

the skills needed to develop satisfying intimate relationships. This

failure leads to despair, isolation and result in depression. Once

depression is established, it is maintained by poor social skills and

impaired communication. These lack of social skills are what

interpersonal theory refers to as the core problem of depression.

Self Esteem

Self esteem is the individual‟s evaluation of self. It is a self reflexive

attribute which is the product of viewing the self as an object of

evaluation. According to Wong (2002) self esteem is how one perceives

oneself. Our self esteem develops as we build an image of ourselves

through our experiences with different people and activities. Also, our

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childhood experiences play particularly large role in the shaping of our

basic self esteem. Wong (2002) continued to say that our impressions,

evaluations and life experiences add to a good feeling about our self

worth or uneasy feeling of inadequacy. As children, our successes and

failures, how we were treated by members of our immediate families, our

teacher and our peers all contribute to the creation of our basic self

esteem.

Stevenson (2006) suggested that self esteem more often comes from

awareness that the requirement of a sought after goal have seen

mastered. Acquiring the knowledge and skills that enables a child to

make progress towards such goals is a necessary basis for developing

healthy and realistic self esteem. Self esteem reflects a person‟s overall

evaluation or appraisal of his or her worth. It can be used to describe a

person‟s overall self worth or personal value (Simoneli, 2002).According

to Ubochi (2007) low self esteem refers to one‟s negative perception of

self. Low self perception according to Wiehe (2000) can create anxiety,

depression, loneliness, stress and lower reported happiness. Loner

(1999) reported that negative feeling of self manifest in such symptoms

as anxiety, increased likelihood for depression and doubts about their

worth. Sue and Sue (2000) reported that the four logical errors which

typify a negative schema in an individual known as the four cognitive

processes can be seen as causes of low self esteem. This cognitive

process makes the individual expect failure and engages in self criticism

that is unrelated to reality. Akponye (1999) opined that people with low

self esteem may have experienced much disapproval in the past from

significant others, such as siblings, peers and parents. These significant

others may have responded to them by punishing failure and not

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rewarding successes or holding unrealistic high expectation or

standards. Caffaro and Con –Caffaro (1998) in a comparative study of 23

sexually and emotionally maltreated adolescents, reported that

individuals who are maltreated experienced low self esteem than those

who are not.

According to Wong (2002) there are two popular views of self esteem

theory –The first view states that it is good for people to feel good about

themselves irrespective of how well or badly they had actually performed.

The second approach views self esteem as something earned. If one

performs better, then one will feel better about self. Whitebourne and

Halgin (2000) suggested that individuals with low self esteem are more

uncertain and have a greater concern with how they are seen and

evaluated by others. Wong (2002) further linked self esteem to a higher

need for social approval. A person, who suffers from low self esteem,

trivializes his strong points and exaggerates only his weak points. He

sees his accomplishment in life as trivial, his failures as outstanding. He

may be sad, depressed anxious and irritable, and lacks concentration to

study due to his low self esteem.

Low self esteem keeps an individual from setting, and achieving goals,

forming meaningful relationship and taking other kinds of risks

(Kiselica and Richards, 2007). Hardy (2001) outlined symptoms of low

self esteem as inability to accept complement, verbalization of self

denigrating remarks, avoiding contact with adults and peers, seeking to

please or receive attention from adults or peers, inability to identify

positive talents, fear of peer group rejections and difficulty saying no to

others. Wehjlah and Akotia (2000) investigated self esteem and life

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satisfaction among refugees in Ghana. Their sample comprised 90

participants (45 males and 45 females).The instrumentation consisted of

a section on participants‟ profile. The data was subjected to statistical

analysis with the use of analysis of variance (ANOVA). The result showed

that 73.3% of participants were not satisfied with their lives at that

moment. The study revealed no significant differences between the two

groups.

The relationship between life satisfaction and self esteem was tested

using Pearson‟s produce moment and coefficient of correlation. A

significant positive correlation was found which stresses that a person

who is not satisfied with his life will exhibit a low self esteem. The reason

for the participants‟ lack of satisfaction was as a result of camp life with

no personal space for them. The result showed that more males were

satisfied with their lives than females but there were however no

significant differences found in their self esteem. Finkelhor (2000)

associated low self esteem with physical, psychological and sexual

sibling maltreatment. In a study of 320 individuals with substantiated

histories of having been maltreated during child hood by siblings, they

were interviewed and assessed in early adulthood using self esteem

inventory (SE1). It was found that experiences of childhood victimization

played a role in influencing the self esteem of these adults to a low one.

Wiehe (2000) pointed out that poor self esteem is a universal effect of

sibling maltreatment such as- physical, emotional and sexual

maltreatment by sibling. Wiehe (1997) In their study of the effects of

sibling psychological maltreatment on the children, one hundred and

forty two (142) adolescents were used, seventy two(72) were evaluated for

emotional, physical and sexual abuse while seventy (70) were evaluated

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for physical and sexual maltreatment only. Coppersmith (1990) symptom

logical scale for low self esteem (SES) was used for assessment. The

physically, sexually and emotionally maltreated adolescents had low self

esteem showing that victims of all types of sibling maltreatment tend to

feel unwanted, inferior, unloved and inadequate which are symptoms of

low self esteem.

Currandi, Caetano and Schafer (2002) in a comparative study of fifty

two (52) adolescents with histories of sexual and physical maltreatment

and another (52) adolescents not known to have had histories of sexual

and physical maltreatment. Statistically, significant differences were

found between the self esteem of those who had been maltreated and

those who had not, the study found the maltreated had problems of low

self esteem than the none maltreated. The study also found statistical

significance in the frequency of drinking and drug abuse. The data

appeared to suggest that mood altering substances may help the

maltreated to satisfy some of their interpersonal need and affect the way

maltreated individuals deal with their emotional difficulties. In the end,

the respondents were asked to say how they felt their childhood sibling

maltreatment affected them. They were asked to do so for each type of

maltreatment they experienced- physical, emotional or sexual. Majority

said that they felt in some way inferior, inadequate and worthless.

Family Relationship

The family according to Ekiran (2003) is a social group characterized by

common residence, economic co -operation and reproduction. It includes

adult of both sexes at least two who maintain a socially approved

relationship with one or more children of their own or adopted ones.

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Sibling family relationships are intimate and long lasting relationships

that are the context for frequent and varied family interactions.

Interactions that are usually positive in tone but can include moments of

conflict and rivalry as well as violence (Hanoski, 2000). According to

Minuchin (2000) sibling family relationship introduces a basic

asymmetry because siblings do not choose each other, they are not

together by choice and do not have the options of terminating the

relationship if negative aspects outweigh positive ones. Kiselica and

Richards (2007) defined family relationship as boundaries that exist

between and among the different members and subsystems of families.

According to White (2001) family relations include different dimensions

such as love, respect, hate, conflict, resentment, jealousy, and rivalry

that are typically present in a normal family setting. These refer to

boundaries between parental and the child subsystems and boundaries

between siblings. According to Kiselica (2007) in healthy families

boundaries are clear with result that there is adequate separation and

autonomy between and among people and their systems. Haskin (2003)

suggested the boundaries should be flexible and permeably so that the

family members and subsystems can have access to one another for the

purpose of communication and support. However, Minuchin (2000)

observed that in dysfunctional families, relational boundaries tend to fall

on extreme of a continuum ranging from enmeshment (too much contact

and not enough emotional separation between people and subsystems )

to disengagement ( very little contact and insufficient emotional

connection). In dysfunctional families in which sibling maltreatment is

present, parents may be overly enmeshed with one child that may make

them respond with too much frequency and intensity whenever that

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child makes mistake. This makes the child a scapegoat and also a target

of maltreatment by his sibling. Secondly, in dysfunctional families where

parents provide little or no supervision to their children, the boundaries

between the children and the parents are disengaged living the sibling in

the child‟s subsystem to handle disputes and competition. Caffaro and

Con- Caffaro (1998) found that in dysfunctional families where sibling

maltreatment occurs, boundaries are either disengaged or in extreme

enmeshment, which make the families to rely on coercive control.

Kiselica and Richards (2007) suggested teaching such families how to set

healthy boundaries while learning alternative to coercion is essential to

reducing the risk of sibling maltreatment. Midom and Ames (1994)

stated that in family relationship building , victims of sibling

maltreatment do not have other support systems or supportive

relationships, they may have histories of being victimized by other family

members or someone outside the family. They are also at greater risks

of being in other abusive relationships throughout life. Parachin (2001)

sees family relations as various ways family members interact, their

relational ties, communication patterns and process which create the

family‟s unique system. A process through which family members

defined their relationships, identify and negotiate with each other in the

family. Freezer (2000) is of the opinion that family relations are

processes of interactions through which the concepts of identities and

self esteems are formed with significant others, typically parents and

siblings. Giddens (2001) pointed out that it is relatedness or

connectedness by blood, marriage or adoption. It involves

communication, respect, negotiation, conflict resolution, fights,

argument and brother sister quarrels. Whitebourne and Halgin (2000)

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characterized abnormal behavior like faulty family relations as a

function of impaired interpersonal relationship including deficiency in

communication. Wiehe (2000) found that difficulties siblings have in

family relationships is related to low self esteem. These difficulties impair

their abilities to hold meaningful interpersonal relationships, that often

times may take the form of conflict with brothers and sisters thus

compensating for their poor feeling of self worth.

2.6 Approaches to Treatment of Psychosocial Problems of Victims

of Sibling Maltreatment.

Whelan (2003); Hardy (2001) and Hanoski (2000) stated that adequate

coping skills serve as strong foundation to deal with life challenging

events such as sibling maltreatment. Sibling maltreated children need to

overcome a troubled and potentially disabling home life by using a wide

range of coping mechanism. They also need aid in the recovery of self

function (Kiselica & Richards, 2007). There is need for the victims to be

trained in effective coping strategies through the use of psychotherapy.

According to Hofman and Edwards (2004) individuals who see

themselves as having adequate coping resources tend to view life

problems and events as healthy challenges rather than unpleasant

stressors. Bellak and Antell (2001) opined that coping resources serve as

the foundation that provide the children with layers of psychological

protection from adverse circumstances of the maltreatment and help

them expedite the healing process of the maltreatment. It is therefore

important that individuals maltreated by siblings should be thought

coping strategies with the use of psychotherapy. Although

psychotherapy does not stop the harm and hurts flowing from the

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experiences of the maltreatment, rather it helps the abused to

understand the maltreatment and cope more effectively towards

minimizing or totally eradicating the effects (Kiselica, 2001 and Sue &

Sue, 2003).

Treatment Approaches

1. Psychotherapy: The treatments involve verbal psychological

interventions, such as cognitive restructuring, assertiveness

training and appropriate communication skills which is a

systematic application of techniques derived from psychological

principles. These involve some form of verbal psychological

interventions for the purpose of aiding psychologically troubled

individuals. It can be in form of emotional support, improvement in

problem solving skills, empathic understanding, improved

communication skill, correction of unrealistic and irrational

thinking, insight into interpersonal relationship and others.

Therefore, Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Social Problem Solving

Skills training were thought relevant and used as techniques for

intervention. Psychotherapy is essentially a relationship of wisdom

and empowerment, mostly it is a present centered interaction

modeled by the therapist where symptoms are relived and new

learning occurs.

2.7 Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

This is a Cognitive and Behaviour oriented intervention made up of

treatment procedures aimed at identifying and modifying faulty thought

processes, attitudes, attributes and problem behaviour (Beck, 1976). It is

a combination of two effective kinds of principles which believed that the

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only access to our mood and emotions are through the cognitive and

behavioural routes, which emphasizes the importance of thinking on

how we feel and what we do to be able to get one‟s life on a more

satisfying track. Cognitive behaviour therapist teaches that it is our

thinking that causes us to feel and act the way we do.

Therefore, if one is experiencing unwanted feelings and behaviour, it is

important to identify the thinking that is causing the feelings and then

learn how to replace the thought with more desirable reactions

(Meichenbaum, 1976).The approaches include cognitive restructuring,

modifying the clients perceptions or evaluation of situation, which will

help the maltreated develop better ways of processing and thinking

about the maltreatment. For example, (this is a faulty thought).

“Because my brother humiliated me, I am worthless I will never mean or

worth anything to other people, I am a total failure”. This child is

depressed due to emotional maltreatment by the brother, this kind of

thought continually generate negative emotions in the individual .In this

situation, Cognitive Behavior Therapy seeks to train the individual to

eliminate and replace such thoughts with more reasonable notions, then

depression will fade away. Also, faulty reactions following the statement

such as “I will be on my own, if I don‟t, I will be made fun of which will

confirm my lack of worth”. In this situation, the child will be thought

how to dispute this type of belief with a rational one such as “if I don‟t

socialize, then I will never have a chance to learn to succeed”. I will take

my chances and deal with this problem once and for all”.

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Characteristics of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

1. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is highly instructional in nature, brief

and makes use of homework and assignment. Therefore,

considered among the fastest in terms of outcome of result.

2. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is based on the scientific fact that

our thoughts cause our feelings and behaviour and not external

objects like people, situations and events. The advantage is that we

can change the way we think and feel or act even if the situation

does not change.

3. Cognitive Behavioural Therapists believe that good trusting

relationship is important but not enough. To the therapists clients

change when they learn to think differently, they therefore focus on

teaching rational self counseling skills.

4. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is a collaborative effort between the

therapist and the client. The therapist seeks to known the client‟s

goals and then helps him to achieve those goals, while listening.

5. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is associated with stoic philosophy. It

emphasizes the fact that we have undesirable situations when we

are upset about our problems. This says that we have two

problems-They are the problem and our upset about it.

6. Cognitive Behavior Therapy uses the Socratic Method such as

asking questions and encouraging the clients to ask questions to

understand the clients concerns.

7. It is structured and directive. The Cognitive Behavior Therapist has

specific agenda, specific technique and concepts for each session.

The therapy focuses on helping the client achieve the goals they

have set. Cognitive Behavior Therapy is directive- the therapist do

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not tell the client what to do rather they teach their clients how to

do it.

8. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is based on an educational model

which scientifically supports the assumption that most emotional

and behavioural reactions are learned. Therefore, the goal of the

therapy is to help the client to unlearn their unwanted reactions

and learn a new and a more appropriate way of reacting.

9. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy relies on the inductive method which

encourages us to look at our thought as being a hypothesis which

can be questioned and tested. If we find that our hypotheses are

incorrect, because of new information we have, then we can change

our thinking to be in line with the real situation.

10 Homework is a central feature in Cognitive Behavior Therapy.

For effectiveness and goal achievement, Cognitive Behaviour

Therapists give assignments and home works and encourage the

clients to practice the techniques learned (Omrod, 1999).

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is a present centered and forward looking

therapy. It involves the combination of two strategies to understanding

and treating common life problems. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy also

involves the application of learning principles in the assessment and

change of cognition and behaviour in applied settings. It is also

considered to be an information processing psychology which involves to

a great extent getting people to think differently about themselves after

examining events and situations in newly structured ways. Its primary

aim is to change cognitions, alter behaviour and modify cognitions to

affect emotions positively. The central principle of Cognitive Behavior

Therapy is that thoughts, emotions, behaviour and physiology are part of

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a unified system. A change to any one part leads to a change to the other

parts (Halgin and Whiteborune, 2000). While the central motion of this

approach is that our feelings are influenced to a large extent by the ways

in which we view life events. The basic assumption here is that people‟s

feelings are influenced by their thoughts.

The way people process information and think about experiences make

them angry, anxious and depressed and not the people‟s experiences or

situation itself. Beck (1995)‟s multi factorial theory explains how

maladaptive cognitive schemas, automatic thoughts and cognitive

distortions which lead to emotional disturbances are acquired. The

model contends that people become vulnerable to psychological

problems as a result of three interacting factors such as:

1. Genetic Factors: Genetics play a major role in the way

individuals differ in their vulnerability to different kinds of stress.

Example- some form of depression run in families.

2. Social Learning: Children learn through observation of significant

people they come across. Example- parents.

3. Childhood Experiences: Certain specific trauma and negative

treatment in childhood are thought to contribute to psychological

problems in life. Also, Taylor (2004) suggested that ineffective

parenting style may not provide the child with experience needed to

learn coping skills, It follows that sibling maltreated children may be

vulnerably to psychological problems due to the trauma of

maltreatment or the negative treatment that they receive from their

siblings. This lack of love may lead to the individual being anxious

and depressed (Caffaro and Con- Caffaro 1998). This approach

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focuses on the development of new ways of perceiving and thinking

about problems as a means of alleviating the symptoms (Beck, 1997).

A sibling maltreated victim may become depressed due to the trauma

of maltreatment, the reason for this depression is cognitive and it

manifests in feeling of worthlessness, hopelessness and poor self

esteem.

4. Another victim in the same situation may face anxiety pangs, faulty

family interactions and poor school adjustment, cognitive behavior

therapy helps the individual to understand the nature of such

psychosocial problems and how to react toward those provoking

situations. The therapy also helps the maltreated come off their

depressed state, anxious moment and negative view of self by

teaching them to develop better ways of processing and thinking

about their experiences. It also helps them to acquire appropriate

skills to cope with such situations .The therapist aims to effect

positive and lasting changes on the clients by helping them to modify

their maladaptive thoughts and behaviour (Bush, 2006).

Research Findings on Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Depression.

Harpin (1995) in a study of the effectiveness of cognitive behaviour

therapy in the treatment of depression, treated seventeen (17) patients

who had failed to improve with medication. Patients either received 12

weeks of thrice weekly Cognitive Behavior Therapy or were allocated to a

waiting list control group. A significant drop in depression was found in

active treatment group (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) as contrasted to

the control group. Four of the 7 treated patients showed significant post

improvement but only one maintained this at 6 months. Halgin and

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Whiteborune (2000) explored the relative effectiveness of medication

compared with psychotherapy in the treatment of depression. In this

study, two hundred and ninety (290) people were assigned to four

treatment groups:

1. Interpersonal psychotherapy

2. Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy

3. Trycyclic antidepressant medication

4. Placebo

In antidepressant and placebo groups, participants met three times

weekly for 22 weeks Of 30 minutes each session with a therapist. The

researchers compared the outcome of the four treatment groups using

variety of indices including self report rating and other psychological

symptoms. The result show that people with less severe depression

benefited equally from medication. Interpersonal therapy was equivalent

in effectiveness to medication, but people in Cognitive Behavioural

Therapy benefited more while people with less severe depression showed

equivalent results with all forms of treatment. Blatt and Felsen (1993)

used Cognitive Therapy, Behavioural Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural

Therapy to treat depressed patients with higher levels of cognitive

functioning for 20 weeks of 30 to 60 minutes session per week. Thirty

seven (37) university students were assigned to each group, after twenty

weeks of treatment, the result showed that while Cognitive Therapy was

effective as Behaviour Therapy, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy was more

effective than either alone Rudd, Rajab and Dahm (1994) studied three

hundred and twenty seven (327) students who were diagnosed with

depression using symptoms check lists, the result found improvement to

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be stable over 8 to 12 months in patients who had received Cognitive

Behavior Therapy or Cognitive Behaviour Therapy in combination with

medication. It was found that the combination Group was doing better

than the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy group at 12 months. In contrast,

the follow up phase by Ogles, Lambert and Sawyer (1995) suggested no

significant advantages of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy over other

interventions. Grossman and Hughes (1992) reviewed and meta-

analyzed twenty two (22) students that used self control therapy referred

to as a synonym for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. The result found self

control therapy to be superior to no treatment or control for depression,

anxious and somatic disorder in children.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Anxiety

Kendall (1997) randomly assigned ninety four (94) children between the

ages of 9 and 13 years to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or waiting list

control group. The majority of the children were diagnosed with general

anxiety disorder, some had social phobia or separation anxiety. After 16

weeks of treatment based on teachers rating , result showed that 70% of

the treated children functioned normally for at least one year.Beck and

Stanley (1997) treated a 20 year old college student Irene, using

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) after trying a number of different

drugs. After Cognitive Behaviour Therapy treatment, the client was able

to cope with life stressors. She completed college and graduate school

married and became a successful counselor. Durham and Allan (2000)

examined the efficiency of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, relaxation, bio

feedback and non directive therapy. Fourteen (I4) students who were

diagnosed using Hamilton anxiety scale ( HAS) and state- trait anxiety

73

inventory (STAI-T) were examined. The percentage of improvement in

post treatment varies, rather markedly across studies. For all treatments

combined, there was 54% reduction for somatic symptoms on the (HAS)

range across studies,( 20-76%) and 25% reduction in general tendency

to worry on STAI-T ( range 6-50%) the best results were obtained by

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT).

Hope, Heimberg and Bruch (1995) did a comparative study of thirty

three (33) in patients suffering from anxiety assigned to one of the three

conditions. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, exposure alone or waiting list

group. After 12 weeks of treatment, patients given active treatment

showed greater gains than waiting list and control group in anxiety

reduction. Seventy percent (70%) treated with exposure responded

favourably and contrasted with sixteen percent (16%) of those treated

with Cognitive Behaviour Therapy package. Gains were maintained at six

months follow up. Butler, Fennel, Robinson and Gelder (1991) studied

the effects of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Behaviour Therapy in

three treatment groups with inclusion of a control group in anxiety. Fifty

seven patients participated in the treatment. Both treatments group

were found to be superior to waiting list control group, but Cognitive

Behaviour Therapy was more effective than Behaviour Therapy across a

range of anxiety symptoms. Clinical significance of change was assessed

using criteria scores of < 10 on the Hamilton Anxiety scale (HAS) <10 on

the Beck anxiety scale and < 6 on the Leeds anxiety scale. Thirty two

percent of patients receiving Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and six

percent (6%) of those receiving behaviour therapies met this post therapy

target. At 6 months follow up the advantage of Cognitive Behaviour

Therapy was marked, forty two percent (42%) of Cognitive Behaviour

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Therapy group met the criteria but only 5% of Behaviour Therapy

patients met the criteria. Finally, Cognitive Behavior Therapy patients

were rated as greatly improved in contrast with thirty percent of those

treated with other behaviour therapies.

Durham and Turkey (1987) treated generalized anxiety disorder within

one year with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. In this study, participants

were assigned to 16 sessions of modifications of maladaptive thoughts

and assumption, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and relaxation,

distraction and exposure. At 6 months follow up, global independent

assessors found similar post treatment gains in each treatment

condition. Twenty five percent (25%) of patients showed no change,

twenty percent (20%) showed moderate gains and fifty five percent (55%)

improved greatly. However, the gains varied across treatment groups as

sixty two percent (62%) of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy patients were

rated as greatly improved compared with only thirty percent (30%) of

those treated with other behavior therapy.

2.8 Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Self Esteem

Hardy (2001) investigated the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavior

Therapy and Reality Therapy on the enhancement of self esteem of

twenty three (23) sexually maltreated adolescents compared with

another (25) who had been physically and emotionally maltreated. The

subjects in two experimental groups received 10 weeks treatment, the

control group was not exposed to treatment. After 12 weeks, the result

showed that subjects treated with Cognitive Behavior Therapy evidenced

seventy percent (70%) improvement in self esteem while the Reality

Therapy group did not show much improvement. Low self esteem starts

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with early life experiences and interacts with depression and anxiety.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy helps to identify how we think.

Akponye (1999) investigated the effectiveness of assertiveness training

and Cognitive restructuring techniques in enhancing self esteem of

female adolescents from divorced homes. The study adopted a 3 x 2

factorial design, one hundred and twenty subjects made up of sixty ( 60)

early female adolescents between 13- 16 years and sixty (60) late female

adolescents between 17- 20 years were randomly drawn from three

systematically selected schools in Ibadan. The subjects were assigned to

the three experimental groups through three psychological screen tests.

The instruments used were students problem inventory (SPT) , Ideals self

identity (1SI) and adolescent divorced home self esteem scale (ADHSS)

The experimental groups were subjected to twenty four (24) weeks

treatment session while the control group received no treatment. The

result showed that the treatment strategies were effective in the

enhancement of self esteem of the subjects. The study also showed that

Cognitive Restructuring Technique (CTR) was superior to assertiveness

training with the mean differential 12.65 (CRT) and 120.09 (ATT)

Cognitive Restructuring is a component of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.

Akinade (1990) conducted a study of how to build self esteem using

Cognitive Behavior Therapy and assertiveness skills training technique

The samples include thirty two (32) adolescents between ages (11-18)

years. Two instruments were used to determine the level of self esteem,

such as pupils behaviour inventory and scales (PBIS) section A by

odoemelam (1970) self esteem inventory for children (SEIC). The

experimental groups were assigned to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and

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assertiveness training technique, the control groups received talk on

health hazards. After eight weeks of treatment on each technique, result

showed that the two treatment Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and

assertiveness training and skills only were effective in reducing shyness

as an indication of low self esteem.

Seligman (1995) conducted a research on the effectiveness of Cognitive

Behavior Therapy on the treatment of twenty three (23) abused early

adolescents screened as having low self esteem with Rosenberg low self

esteem scale for children and related emotional problems. The treatment

lasted for 11 weeks, the result showed that Cognitive Behavior Therapy

was effective in the treatment of low self esteem. The adolescents

reported enhanced feeling of self worth, perceived themselves in a more

positive manner and feeling personally more adequate in their

interactions. There was noticeable improvement in friendship and

effective interaction with parents, siblings, teachers and peers.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Family Relations

Bush and Davidson (2000) carried out a comparative study on the

effectiveness of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and interpersonal

skills in the management of faulty family interactions. The sample

consisted of one hundred and twenty adolescents whose ages ranged

from 12- 21 years drawn from thirty two dysfunctional homes, with

Whiteborune, (2000) children interaction check list. Participants were

randomly assigned to three groups, Cognitive Behavior Therapy,

interpersonal skills group and control. The study lasted for 12 weeks

with sixty minutes per week. The result showed that the Cognitive

Behavioural Therapy group evidenced an improvement in family

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interaction sixty three percent as against twenty two percent in

interpersonal skills group with no improvement in the control group.

Walker and Goleman (1995) reviewed one hundred and eighty (180)

cases based on interviews conducted on abused adolescents, who were

in the programme from dysfunctional homes and suffering from violence

at home and faulty family interactions. The participants were randomly

selected into three groups- according to their ages (between 13 – 21

years).Group one-The Cognitive Behaviour Therapy group which involves

cognitive behaviour approach where participant were exposed to

cognitive restructuring. Group two - used Social Problem Solving Skills -

Conflict resolution which socialized participants with skills to work

through their difference. Group three- the control group was asked to

state how they feel when they are angry to each other only. After sixteen

weeks of therapy, the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) group

improved on family interaction, resolving and reducing family feud more

than the other group, the control group made little gain.

Social Problem Solving Skills Training.

Social problem solving skills training are social scientific techniques and

therapeutic strategies that have been culled from Hazler (1996) Newman,

Horne and Bartolomucci (2003) and Wiehe (2000) used to help

individuals to solve social dilemma. The therapy is aimed at inculcating

social skills in the participants to help them cultivate, develop and

maintain relationship with siblings without hurt , pain or maltreatment.

It helps the individuals who are troubled by life challenges such as

sibling maltreatment to refocus on adaptive patterns that can help the

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maltreated child to break the cycle of negative behaviour towards him or

her.

It helps the participants to strive for wholesome and peaceful family

relationship, to focus on their strengths and also encourage them to

positively reinforce acceptable behaviour (Reid, Patterson & Synder,

2002).The training will help the adolescent to imbibe effective interaction

skills which will enable them to develop the skills and ability to adopt

the perspective of another. According to Wiehe (2000) it helps to figure

out what someone else feels, thinks, wishes or likes and skills to develop

the ability to share resources, observe personal boundaries and initiate

friendship among family members in other to minimize maladaptive

behaviour. Social problem solving skills measures the relationship

between cognitive skills, interactions and communication skills both in

speaking and listening (Whelan, 2003). Wiehe (1998) stated that training

in social problems solving skills will help the individuals to imbibe

effective interaction skills, conflict resolution strategies, negotiation

skills, appropriate communication and listening skills to avoid

maltreatment and reduce the psychological problems encountered by

victims of sibling maltreatment. Minuchin (2000) found that teaching

children relevant social skills will lead to changes in their social

behaviour as well as produce gains in corporation. Similarly, Hazler

(1996) stated that such training does have some positive effects on the

way children behave with their sibling. Whelan (2003) further confirmed

that teaching children social problem solving skills has been shown to

result in improvement in pro-social behaviour and general social

adjustment. Social Problem Solving Skills training is not only of scientific

interest but also a good intervention towards helping children who are

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having psychosocial problems and difficulties in social adjustment and

family relationship.

The social problem solving skills training will help the maltreated to

develop positive behavioural and appropriate skills towards knowing the

rights, boundaries and responsibilities in other to avoid falling into

depression, poor self esteem, anxieties and feeling of inferiority.

Individuals who find themselves in an abused situation would learn

through social problem solving skills training, how to develop positive

skills and behaviour towards knowing their rights, responsibilities, learn

the skills to say “No” to abusive behaviour, resist abusive behaviour

while at the same time relating in a non- abusive way. It in-cooperates

procedures and skills to improve intra-family relationships,

communication and negotiation skills, conflict resolution skills, skills to

handle stress, anxiety and depression in other to promote healthy family

relationships and eliminate violence at home (Mucci and

Red,2003).Social Problems Solving Skills involve creative and

individualized approach to helping people solve life dilemma and live

more effective lives. It teaches the people the skills to develop the

strength to handle stressful life situations. It is a procedure employed in

solving interpersonal problems ( Newman, 2003). A practical method

which the therapist uses with every client. Training of this sort is not

only scientific and therapeutic but empowers people by emphasizing the

power of acquiring the necessary skills to solve social dilemmas and be

in control of one‟s life (Wiehe, 2000). Newman (2003) believes that

psychological problems are the result of deficiency in social and life

solving skills. That all psychological problems could be as a result of lack

of required skills by individuals to solve their problems. In line with

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other therapies, social problem solving skills therapy emphasizes the

establishment of warm, accepting, trusting relationship, through

communication, negotiation, conflict resolution, speaking and listening

skills and empathy as essential ingredients for effective intervention to

occur.

Here, participants are encouraged to discuss their thoughts, feelings,

actions and experiences without fear or blame (Caffaro and Con- Caffaro,

1998).It incorporates procedures and strategies which promote positive

child- child relationship and sibling interactions which will help the

children to live more effective lives. This intervention strategy teaches

people how to enhance their intra family relationship through open

communication and assertiveness to develop the strength to handle

stress, promote healthy family relationships and eliminate sibling

maltreatment in the home. The central notion in social problem solving

skills training is that individuals are taught positive mental health and

armed with appropriate skills required to enable them promote a

cooperative spirit within them and bonding among family members by

providing such skills for challenging aggression in families (Kiselica &

Richards, 2007).The skills will help the individual to achieve love, self

worth, reduce anxiety and depression, improve family relationship and

achieve enhanced cognitive thought (Levy, 2005). Wiehe (2000) opined

that the therapy helps in reducing interpersonal frictions among

individuals because it provides social and psychological protection from

the devastating effects of sibling maltreatment. It empowers individuals

to ask for help in a violent family when they need it, teach them the

ability to make use of self comforting devices and also help them develop

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special talents to tolerate frustrations, anxiety and how to express

tensions without invoking catastrophic consequences (Newman,2003).

Reid, Patterson and Synder (2002) further stated that there is a

correlation between dysfunctional families and individual cognitive

processes, depression, guilt, shame and low self esteem. Therefore, the

goal of social problem solving skills training is to gradually help the

victims of sibling maltreatment to build more strength to learn

appropriate skills such as assertiveness, negotiation, conflict resolutions

skill and strategies for responding to maltreatment in the homes, develop

rules and skills that will help the siblings to respect each other‟s

personal space. Ross (2003) explains that the effectiveness of social

problem solving skills training is based on some elements. They are:

Emphasis on mutually agreed upon rules of conduct with examples of

acceptable behaviour and non- acceptable behaviour.

Identifying and rewarding acceptable behaviour and consequences for

unacceptable behaviour.

Identifying family boundaries

Emphasis on learning and practicing of conflict resolution

strategies and communication skills.

Addressing external stressors such as economic difficulties and

socio political barriers that may tax the ability of the family to cope

with abusive situations.

According to Caffaro and Con- Caffaro (1998) one essential component of

social problem solving skills, is helping the participants to create safe

and supportive environment .This will help them build suitable self

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esteem that will serve as basis for creation of limits and boundaries to

reduce depression. It emphasizes open and appropriate communication

as the best reaction to an individual‟s trauma; a self protective decency

which empowers the victims to challenge powerful negative cognitions

related to the maltreatment and finally internalizes an appropriate

perception of one‟s self. Kiselica and Richards (2007) stated that the

atmosphere in the social problem solving skills training is that of

friendliness, firmness, assertiveness and empathy. The skills help in

establishing boundaries and emphasize more effective behavioural

patterns for the participants. It encompass the ability to plan , think

critically, creatively , reflectively to be tactical and resourceful in seeking

help from others and tackling social life dilemmas.

2.9 Research Findings on Social Problems Solving Skills

Briere (1992) studied the effectiveness of social problem solving skills

training among 12 graders who are from a coercive family environment

struggling with self esteem, depression, anxiety, locus of control,

academic achievement, attitude to school and self discipline. Three

groups of twenty- one (21) students each formed the treatment groups;

one, two and the control groups. Group one received training using

multi dimensional therapeutic approach for nine weeks, while group two

were taught skills and behaviour needed for competent and effective

handling of each situation in a group therapy of nine weeks. Group three

the control group received training on the use and abuse of drugs. At the

end of the study, group two made the most gains with significant

differences in self esteem, depression, anxiety, family relationship school

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achievement and attitude to school. Locus of control and self discipline

showed no significant differences.

Osuka (2007) researched into the effectiveness of Social Problem Solving

Skills with twenty one (21) male and female college students who were

emotionally maltreated by their siblings and diagnosed as suffering from

depression, the programme focused on helping the students develop

alternatives for solving problems. After12 weeks of treatment, result

showed that the treatment group had significant reduction in depression

but changes in the academic performance of the treatment were not

significantly greater than those of the control. Ross (2003) randomly

assigned one hundred and seventy (170) help seeking sexually

maltreated children from ages 3-15years to Social Problem Solving or

waiting list control group .Majority of the children were diagnosed with

generalized anxiety disorder, low self esteem and depression,

participants were assessed with DSM-111 criteria for depression, anxiety

self rating scale was used for generalized anxiety disorder. Eighty two

percent of the self reported child abuse victims met the criteria based on

AD intensity scores. After eight weeks of intensive training on skills to

reduce Anxiety and depression based on teacher rating, eighty percent

(80%) and eighty two percent( 82%) respectively of the treated children in

the Social Problem Solving Skill group were found to have significant

reduction in anxiety and depression over the waiting list control group.

Greenberg (1993) Compared Cognitive Behaviour Therapy with Social

Problem Solving Skill Training, one hundred and twenty (120) sexually

abused female adolescents were randomly assigned to either therapy

group for ten weeks of treatment. At 12 months follow up, ninety two

(92% ) of the patients receiving Social Problem Solving Skills were a

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judged improved which contrasted with 35% of those who received

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and no treatment.

Okoli and Ettu (2012) investigated the effects of Social Skill Training,

inhibitory modeling and persuasion on attitude to and involvement in

bulling among secondary school students. Four hundred and twenty

(420) students were drawn from four senior secondary schools in Owerri

Metropolis, assigned to Social skills Training, inhibitory modeling, and

persuasion or waiting- list control. Participants were exposed to 6 weeks

one hour weekly training. Bulling Rating Scale, Attitude to Bulling

Rating Scale and Check-List on Environments / Places of Bulling in

schools were used to collect the data. Three hypotheses were formulated

and analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). Result showed

that Social Skills Training was effective in the modifying attitude to and

involvement of participants in bulling behaviour.

Michales (1992) studied the effectiveness of Social Problem Solving Skills

on the treatment of low self esteem of children who were physically and

emotionally maltreated by their siblings. Result found that Social

Problem Solving Skills had significant gain in self esteem of participants

above the control group for both the physically and the emotionally

maltreated adolescents.

2.10 Gender Differences in Sibling Maltreatment

Power in today‟s society often appears to be gender related .Men are

more frequently socialized to be in control, and continue to hold

authority in the family hierarchy. The feeling of powerlessness is often

intolerable for many boys and men in our society. A good example is the

abuse of a younger and more vulnerable sibling gives an older brother or

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sister a sense of power and control, even though it may be a false one

(Caffaro and Con-Caffaro,1998). Felson and Russo (1988) observed some

mixed view on gender differences in sibling maltreatment as one of the

major factors in sibling maltreatment.

Goodwin and Roscoe (1990) found no significant differences with regard

to gender and sibling maltreatment .Wiehe (2000) Suggested that

parents under report the incidences of sibling conflict in the home

regardless of the children‟s gender. However, Wiehe (1997) revealed that

boys tend to use more violence and physical force than girls in the

sibling relationships. Richards (2007) observed that brothers tend to

have greater psychological impacts on their sisters than the reverse.

Richards (2007) further stated that boys tend to engage in physical

fighting while girls rely more on verbal attacks. Goodwin and Roscoe

(1990) observed that not only that males rely more heavily on physical

force than do females to resolve sibling conflict, but also that brothers

assault brothers more than they assault sisters. Steinmetz (2000)

agreed with others who suggest gender differences in sibling conflicts

and suggests that male and females react differently to conflict in same

sex peer and sibling relationship. Kiselica and Richards (2007) observed

that males and females are at equal risk of being affected as victims by

sibling maltreatment and also being involved in future criminal

activities. Harway and O‟Neil (1999) stated that females are significantly

more likely than males to be victims of sibling maltreatment and on the

long run victims of spouse and partner abuse. Duncan (1999); Goodwin

and Roscoe (1990) found no significant gender differences among victims

of sibling maltreatment. However, Caffaro and Con-Caffaro (1998)

further stated that boys and men are less likely to report being affected

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as victims because of the embarrassment they experience about seeking

help and admitting that they have been victims of sibling maltreatment,

this has led to men or males being over looked in regard to maltreatment

issues .

While Wiehe (1997) agreed that male and female victims are at equal

risks of suffering the psychosocial effects of sibling maltreatment.

Caffaro and Con- Caffaro (1998) pointed out that male and female are at

equal risk of being involved but that females are more likely to be victims

than perpetrators. Craighead and Craighead(1998) found gender

differences in the experience of anxiety .Simond and Whiffen (2003)

reported that gender has influence on anxiety and stated that anxiety

and depression have common cognitive component that can affect the

individual concurrently .Kessler (1994) in a study of gender and

depression, also found that women are much more likely than men to

experience depression.

2.11 Summary of Review

The study aimed at determining the effectiveness of two intervention

strategies (Social Problems Solving Skills and Cognitive Behaviour

Therapy) in the treatment of psychosocial problems of victims of sibling

maltreatment. Relevant literatures were reviewed, from concepts,

psychosocial problems, treatment and studies on the intervention

strategies. The review showed that sibling maltreatment though

relatively new in Nigeria, ignored and under reported by parents and

significant others, are as old as the family. The review noted the

standard and varied definitions of sibling maltreatment, criteria for

establishing the existence of sibling maltreatment such as the severity,

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the intensity, the purpose ,the constancy, the age appropriateness of the

behaviour and one sibling assuming the role of an aggressor in relation

to the other were all reviewed. Gender differences were reviewed.

The review showed the three categories of sibling maltreatment as

physical, emotional and sexual maltreatment and the various

instruments used in assessing the existence and identifying the victims

of sibling maltreatment .The review showed the major causes of sibling

maltreatment as dysfunctional family structures, parents maladaptive

behaviour, differential treatment of children, child labeling and lack of

parental supervision .The review also disclosed that ignorance,

disbelieve, normalization of maltreatment and inability of parents to

differentiate sibling maltreatment from sibling rivalry are key factors in

the prevalence of sibling maltreatment in Nigeria. The positive

influences of the intervention strategies in most research works were

found. However, the way to reduce the negative effects of psychosocial

problems of sibling maltreatment as to obtain maximum success is far

from being achieved due to ignorance, underreporting and

underemphasizing sibling maltreatment and its psychosocial problems.

This also has created a gap between the literature reviewed and this

present research.

The review also showed that inability to set up intervention strategies for

the eradication of sibling maltreatment are due to non- challant attitude

on the part of parents and significant others who dismiss maltreatment

among brothers and sisters as normal sibling rivalry .The research into

the two intervention strategies, Social Problem Solving Skills and

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy was done with a view to determining the

88

effectiveness of the two strategies on the psycho social problems of

victims of sibling maltreatment. The gap here favours over emphases on

the parent child abuse with complete disregard for assessment,

treatment and prevention of sibling maltreatment. This study creates

awareness and an understanding of symptoms and psychosocial

problems of this social issue. It provides information and materials

about the dynamics and potential intervention (treatment) strategies for

the victims to cope with the problems.

.

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CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to describe the methods and procedures

used to select participants, instruments used for the study, collection of

data and method adopted for analyzing the data. The chapter is

arranged into eleven sub sections namely:

Research Design

Study Area

Study Variables

Study Population

Sample and Sampling Technique

Instrumentation

Validation of Instrument

Procedure for Data Collection

Treatment

Method of Data Analysis

3.0 Research Design

The research designs used for the study were survey and Quasi-

experimental pre-test post- test control group design. Survey was used

to do a base line assessment to identify the victims in the population.

The quasi experimental design was appropriate because it involved

human behaviour that did not permit complete randomization of

subjects and control of variables (Ilogu,2005).Participants were assigned

randomly from a common population to the treatment and control

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groups. The 2 x 3 pretest post test control group design comprised three

groups-two treatment groups and one control group .The design is

diagrammatically represented below.

01 X1 02

03 X2 04

05 C 06

Where:

X1 represents treatment 1- Social Problem Sibling Skills

X2 represents treatment II- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

C represents control group- Placebo treatment

01, 03 and 05 represent pretest Scores

02, 04 and 06 represent post test scores.

Since the study is interested in the effects of more than two independent

variables at the same time, the 2 x 3 pretest- post test control group

design was employed. 2 represent the gender variables (male and

female); while 3 represents the 3 experimental conditions ( 2 treatments

and 1 control group).

3.1 Study Area

The area of study was Lagos Education District Six in Lagos State. Lagos

is divided into six Educational Districts in which former Lagos Education

Zone 3 (Oshodi/Isolo) together with Zone 1 (Ikeja) and Zone 2 (Mushin)

now make up Lagos Education District Six. District Six has a total of

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fifty eight ( 58) junior secondary schools. Lagos is a highly developed and

densely populated state, with a population of about 21 million people

located in the South West of Nigeria. Education District six is located

within Lagos West Senatorial District of Lagos state. The area is mixed

with different ethnic groups from Nigeria. Three public junior co-

educational secondary schools in Lagos Education District Six, Lagos

State were used. Schools were used because they represent the families.

The schools are made up of students from fairly similar family

background and environmental conditions. The researcher has lived and

taught in this area for over two decades, therefore very familiar with the

nature of the families that made up these schools and their social

challenges. The religions practiced among the people are Christianity

and Islamic religions. The people speak their local languages but the

major languages of communication are Yoruba and English Languages.

3.2 Population

The population comprised all junior secondary school students within

the age bracket of 11-14 years both (male and female) in Lagos State.

The average age of the population is12.1 years. The schools are referred

to as “public schools “because they are owned and run by Lagos state

government.

3.3 Sample and Sampling Technique

The sample for this study consisted of 180 junior secondary two (JSII)

students in Lagos Education Districts Six, Lagos State. A multistage

stratified sampling procedure was used .The first stage involved survey

requiring base line assessment using 600 subjects from where 180

subjects were drawn. By the “hat and draw” simple random method,

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three secondary schools were drawn from the stratum of the 58 public

junior secondary schools in Lagos Education District six. One school

each from the three zones. With stratified random sampling technique,

six hundred (600) subjects (300 males and 300 females) initial sample

were drawn, 200 from each school (100 males and 100 females) (see

Table 1).

A survey assessment was done on the sample with the use of Sibling

Abuse Interview Schedule (SAIS) and Whitbourne Psychosocial

symptoms checklist (WPSC).The maximum obtainable scores by

participants was 150 in Sibling Abuse Interview Schedule (SAIS) while

the minimum obtainable score was 30 marks. The cut off mark was 100

marks in Sibling Abuse Interview Schedule (SAIS). In Whitbourne

Psychosocial Symptom Checklist (WPSC) the maximum score was 48

marks while the minimum score was 0 marks and the cut off was 30

marks. Based on the participants responses on Sibling Abuse Interview

Schedule (SAIS), participants who scored 100 marks and above were

identified as victims of sibling maltreatment. Two hundred and forty two

(242) respondents met the criteria with- eighty six (86) participants from

school one, eighty-two (82) from school two and seventy- six (76) from

school three. Whitebourne Psychosocial Symptoms Checklist was also

used to assess victims‟ psychosocial problems. All those who scored

30marks and above were deemed to have high psychosocial problems.

Two hundred and twenty eight (228) respondents met the criteria.

Through the use of simple random sampling, 180 participants were

selected from the two hundred and twenty eight (228) respondents who

met the criteria. Sixty (60) participants from each school (30 males and

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30 females) formed the experimental groups, (see Table 1). Each of the

three schools was randomly assigned to either experimental group:

Experimental group 1 –Social Problem Solving Skills

Experimental group 2-Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and

Control group- Placebo (HIV/ AIDS). The table is presented below:

Table 1: Result of Survey Distribution Table of Participants for Baseline Study.

School Population

M

SAIS Pre-assessment Scores F

Male(WPSL) Female

Name of School

Zone Total M F High Low D High Low D High Low High Low

School 1 1 200 100 100 34 56 10 50 30 20 32 2 47 3

School 2 2 200 100 100 40 41 19 42 56 2 37 3 39 3

School 3 3 200 100 100 37 53 10 39 48 13 35 2 38 I

Total 600 300 300 111 150 39 131 134 35 104 7 124 7

242 Participants =victims; High psychosocial symptoms = 228; 180 randomly selected

from 228 for the experiment.. Key: High – High Psychosocial Symptoms, Low-=below

median score (below 30) D- Discarded . While school 1 (Mushin) recorded the highest

number of female victims (50,) School 3 (Okota) recorded the least number of female

victims ( 39); School 2 (Ikeja) recorded the highest number of male victims (40 ), Mushin

recorded the least number of male victims (34).

Table 2: Distribution of sample study by Gender and Experimental

Condition.

Gender EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS

SPSS: School1

CBT: School2

Control: School3

Total

Females 30 30 30 90

Males 30 30 30 90

Total 60 60 60 180

SPSS – Social Problem Solving Skills; CBT- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

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3.4 Instrumentation

Six instruments were used for the study. Two instruments for baseline

assessment namely: Sibling Abuse Interview Schedule (SAIS) and

Whitebourne Psychosocial Symptom Checklist (WPSC).Four for data

collection such as-

Rosenberg Self Esteem Rating Scale (RSERS).

Depression Self Rating Scale (DSRS).

Index of Family Relations (IFR).

Social Anxiety Thought Questionnaire (SATQ).

Sibling Abuse Interview Schedule (SAS)

This is a 30 item family based interview scale by Caffaro and Con-

Caffaro (1998) for measuring abusive relationship in the sibling

interactions at home. Each item represents a behaviour or interaction

that is considered abusive. With a mean alpha of 0.77,and a good

concurrent validity of 0.84 which correlates significantly with social

avoidance scale of negative family interaction. Sibling Abuse interview

Schedule is scored on five point likert scale, with minimum score of 30

marks and maximum score of 150 marks. Scores of 100 and above

indicate significant problems of sibling maltreatment and scores below

100 points indicating no problem. For this study, a Test / Re-test

reliability = 0.75 was obtained after two weeks interval.

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Here are some items from the Instrument.

No Items SA A U D SD

1 Does your sister or brother often yell at,

insult or criticize you?

2 Does your brother or sister often beat you up?

3 Does your brother or sister often say anything to you that makes you feel uncomfortable about your body?

2 Whitebourne Psychosocial Symptoms Checklist (WPSC) This is a 24

item assessment lists adapted by Whitebourne (2000) to measure the

psychosocial symptoms of students. The instrument has four sub scales

with six items in each scale; each item carries two marks yielding useful

information on the psycho-social level of students. The responses of each

participant were summed up to determine the psychosocial problem,

either low or high with a minimum obtainable score of 0 and maximum

obtainable score of 48. A test- retest reliability of 0.68 was obtained after

two weeks interval.

Here are some items from the list.

NO Items

Anxiety I am restless; I cannot sleep at night.

Depression I feel like killing myself, my movement is slow

Family

Relations

I always fight with my brother, my sister talks to me harshly

Low Self esteem

I don‟t like myself. I am worthless

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3 Rosenberg Self Esteem Rating Scale (RSERS)

This is a 10 item scale by Rosenberg (1979) to measure the self esteem of

Secondary School students. It has an alpha of 0.85.The (RSERS)

correlates significantly with depression, anxiety and peer group

reputation inventory. A 4 point likert format was adopted to score the

instrument: Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree and Strongly Disagree. It is

scored by totaling the individual items after reversely scoring the

negative worded items. A possible maximum obtainable score is 40,

while a minimum obtainable score is 10.The higher the scores the higher

the manifest self esteem and vice versa. For this study, a test re-test

rel3iability of 0.77 was obtained after two weeks interval.

A sample of some of the items is:

No Items SA A D SD

1 On the whole, I am satisfied with myself.

2 At times, I think I am not good at all

4 Depression Self – Rating Scale (DSRS)

Depression self rating scale is an 18 item scale designed by Burleson

(1981) to measure depression. DSRS has an alpha of 0.80 . The DSRS

items are scored on three point scale. The range of possible scores is 18

to 54. The higher the scores the more depressed the individual. For this

study, a test re –test reliability of 0.68 was obtained after two weeks

interval.

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A sample of some of the items is as follow:

No Items Most of the

time

Some of

the time

Never

1 I think life is not worth it.

2 I feel so bad, I can hardly

stand it

5 Index of Family Relations (IFR)

Index of family relations (IFR) is a 25 item scale designed by Hudson

(1990) to measure the extent of severity or magnitude of problems that

family members have in their relationship with another.IFR has an alpha

0.95.IFR has a good construct validity correlating well with parents

,child and family relationship rating. Five point Likert format was

adopted to score the instrument- For this study the test re-test reliability

is 0.72 was obtained after two weeks interval.

A sample of some of the items is:

No Items SA A D SD

1 My family gets on my nerves

2 I really enjoy my family

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6 Social Anxiety Thought Questionnaire (SATQ)

This is a 21- item inventory designed by Hartman (1984) to measure the

frequency of cognitions that accompany social stress or anxiety. SAT has

an alpha of 0.95.SATQ has a good concurrent validity showing

significant correlations with Social Avoidance and Fear of negative

evaluation scale. It has possible maximum obtainable score of 105 and a

possible obtainable minimum score of 21. The higher the scores the

more problematic or anxious the individual will be.

A sample of some of the items is:

No Items SA A U D SD

1 I feel tensed and uncertain

2 I feel sad and shaky

In the scoring of the instrument, scores assigned are 5,4,3,2 1 to SA, A,

U, D, SD for positively worded items. For this study, a test re-test

reliability of 0.72 was obtained after two weeks interval.

3.5 Validation of Instruments

The face and content validity of the Instruments used for this study were

established by presenting them to the researcher‟s supervisors and three

specialists in the Department of Educational Foundations of the

University of Lagos. The Specialists certified the face and content validity

high, showing that the instruments were reliable for use.

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3.6 Pilot Study: Reliability of Instruments

A preliminary study was carried out to determine the reliability of

research instruments. For this purpose, sixty respondents (30males 30

females) who participated were randomly selected Junior Secondary

School Students two (JS11) in three co-educational junior public

secondary schools in Akute, Ogun state far away from those who

participated in the main study. To determine the stability of the

instruments, the test re-test method was employed; the entire

instruments were administered twice within two weeks interval between

the first and the second administration to determine the consistency of

the scores. The correlation between the two sets of scores was done

using Pearson‟s Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient method. The

results of the correlations are presented below.

Table 3: Test – Retest Reliability Estimates of the Instruments Used Instruments Variables No of

items

Test

Position

X SD R

Sibling abuse interview Schedule (SAIQ)

Sibling maltreatment

30 1st 58.21 4.05 0.75

2nd 56.64 5.41

Index of Family relations (IFRS)

Family Relations

25 1st 57.30 8.12 0.72

2nd 59.51 7.89

Depression self rating scale (DRS)

Depression 18 1st 30.60 8.26 0.68

2nd 34.60 7.21

Social Anxiety thought questionnaire (SATQ)

Anxiety 21 Ist 2nd

55.64 53.20

4.05 5.42

0.72

Self – Esteem Scale (RSES) for children

Self esteem 10 1st 20.20 6.04 0.77

2nd 25.62 5.43

Psychosocial Symptoms Checklist(WPSC)

Psycho-social Problems

24 1st

2nd

57.21 56.41

5.42 5.57

0.68

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From the above, it can be seen that the reliability of SAIQ, IFR, DSRS,

SATQ, RSE and WPSC are 0.75, 0.72, 0.68, 0.72, 0.77 and 0.68

respectively. These scores obtained were high, hence the instruments

were adjudged reliable and stable enough to use for the study.

3.7 Appointment and Training of Research Assistants.

Three research assistants were appointed and trained to ensure effective

administration, scoring and coding of the research instruments .There

were two hours training sessions for research assistants in data

collection, where the purpose , the nature of the research and how to

guide the respondents in filling the instruments were clearly explained

to them. They assisted the researcher to administer and score the

questionnaires. The three research assistants are masters‟ degree

holders in Educational Psychology of the University of Lagos. The

researcher worked closely with the assistants to avoid mistakes..

3.8 Procedure for Data Collection.

3.8.1 Permission

With a letter of introduction from the Department of Educational

Foundations University of Lagos, the researcher met the principals of the

three schools for the study. The principals held discussions with the

researcher and permission was granted. Also, each of the principals

introduced the researcher to the schools‟ deputy vice principal

academics who facilitated arrangement and commencement of the study.

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3.9 Administration of Instruments.

The researcher with the help of the research assistants personally

administered all the instruments in group using the class room setting

in each school on different days, one at a time. The researcher informed

the participants that the exercise was purely for research purposes and

to help them achieve better family relationship with siblings. The

respondents were guided on how to respond to the items. Those who

needed clarifications were attended to. The first stage was the baseline

assessment stage, a total of 600 students were selected with stratified

random sample technique from the three schools, 300 males and 300

females, from where 228 respondents were randomly selected from those

who had the mid scores and above as victims. From this 228 victims

,180 participants who scored high in the psychosocial symptom

checklist were randomly selected ( 90 males and 90 females) 60

participants formed each group. The instruments were completed and

retrieved the same day on different days in the three different schools.

All pre tests measures and assessments were carried out two weeks

before the experimental treatments.

3.10 Treatments

There were two treatments and one placebo treatment. The two

experimental groups were exposed to two different treatments: They are

Social Problem Solving Skills (SPSS) and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

(CBT). Each of the treatments lasted for seven weeks. Participants in

each experimental group were exposed to seven treatment sessions that

covered a total of 21hours spread over seven weeks of 60 minutes per

week. The treatment group one of sixty (60) participants was exposed to

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lectures, discussions and role play on social problem solving skills, the

treatment group two of sixty (60) participants had lectures, discussions

and training on cognitive behaviour therapy. The control group of sixty

(60) participants was exposed to discussions and lectures on HIV/AIDS.

The researcher did this to serve as placebo (no treatment). The post

treatment assessment was carried out two weeks after the last treatment

sessions and a comparison of pre and post test scores in all the

dependent measures were done.

3.10.1Procedure for Treatments

The treatment was in three phases.

Phase1- Pre-Treatment Assessment: The researcher identified the

victims and assessed their psychosocial problems using Sibling Abuse

Interview Schedule (SAIS) and Whitebourne Psychosocial Symptoms

Checklist (WPSC). All the pre tests were carried out two weeks before the

actual training.

Phase 11 –Intervention programmes (Treatment).

3.1o.2 Treatment programme one:-

Social Problem Solving Skills Training (SPSS). The rationale for the

treatment is to help participants to learn and to equip themselves with

problem solving skills needed to develop the strength to handle the

stress and problems of life. This serves also as a means of alleviating

the psychosocial problems emanating from sibling maltreatment. The

treatment lasted for seven weeks with a session of one hour per week.

The Social Problem Solving Skills used were based on procedures as

suggested by (Hazler, 1996; Newman, Horne and Bartolomucci, 2003

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and Wiehe, 1998) which postulates that behaviour changes come from

learning skills to tackle life dilemmas. It provides strategies for dealing

with life challenging problems for example, depressions, anxiety that are

detrimental to psychosocial well being of individuals. Some of the skills

are.-Conflict resolution skills, negotiation skills, communication skills

and others.

Session One

Establishment of rapport for trust and open communication.-The

researcher established a friendly atmosphere by introducing herself to

the participants. The participants were allowed to introduce themselves

to enable them relax. The researcher explained the rationale, the

procedure and the benefits of the training to the participants.

Participants were told that to overcome problems of, (Anxiety, Faulty

family relationship, Depression and Low self esteem) known as the

effects of sibling maltreatment, they needed to be engaged in coping

skills training. The researcher stressed the need for confidentiality and

asked the participants to feel free to ask or answer any question at any

interval during therapy .Identification of group goals and objectives of

the therapy were stated by the researcher, what the individual stands to

gain from the programme were also explained. To enhance mutuality of

the group, participants nominated group head and an assistant who

were charged with the responsibilities of setting the venue, making sure

it was cleaned, setting the time and making sure participants were

punctual.

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Session Two: Identification of problems. Discussion Session with

Participants. Background information: A video clips of siblings

relationship containing different situations of sibling violence was

shown to the participants, through the clips, triggers of abusive

situations, actions , situations ,thoughts and environments that can

promote sibling maltreatment were identified .The researcher asked the

participants to identify situations by mentioning them, events and

family stressors that can cause maltreatment in their homes, these were

identified and discussed with the participants. The researcher explained

to the participants that the ability to identify the unacceptable

behaviour, actions and situations that can cause violence at home, will

help reduce the prevalence and the negative effects of sibling

maltreatment .Thereafter, the participants were given pieces of papers

and asked to list and identify twenty unacceptable behaviours, actions,

events and situations by their own perception that can cause violence at

home. The aim of this was to enable the participants to understand the

triggers of sibling maltreatment and to be able to identify them before

they escalate to violence.

Session Three: Skills to Enhance Self Esteem and Confidence.

Review of the last session. The researcher taught the participants skills

to develop self identity and self confidence building skills -for example-

,believe in yourself, be competent in the skills you need to sustain life

Perspective taking- always see things from the others‟ point of view.

Assertiveness skills- be firm, learn to say no to what is wrong and what

you do not like. Self identity skills for setting realistic goals were

discussed. Example-Set goals you can attain, be focused .The meaning

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of family boundary was explained to the participants- as the rights and

responsibilities of each member of the family .The participants were

taught to develop capacity to empathize (that is be in as if position) and

remain flexible in the manner with which they approach tasks at home.

Limits and respect for other people„s social –personal and psychological

spaces were taught. Example-Do not bump into the boys or girls rooms

without knocking, always give support to your brother or sister when

needed and receive support as well. Participants were taught that rules

at home should not be too rigid or too open in order not to lead to loss of

identity and self worth. The aim of this session was to enable

participants to imbibe skills to improve on their self esteem

Session Four

Skills for Handling Anxiety.

Review of the last session. The researcher presented imaginary abusive

situations and taught the participants some precautionary skills to

reduce anxiety. Example-.If your brother calls you derogatory names

such as Orobo, Lazy , in front of your friends , do not reply him, retreat

to safety. Participants were exposed to manageable quantity of abuse

related distress to prevent disputes at home and avoid tension and

anxiety.

Precautions to be used are:

Retreat to safety when necessary making use of self comforting devices

Example-go and play, watch television or read novels instead of being at

home and withdrawn .

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Develop special talents to keep yourself busy, such as learning to draw,

make hairs, and learn to paint or to play an instrument or go for

computer training.

Take up responsibilities at home. Example- sweeping, cooking, cleaning

and throwing away trash.

Contract self reinforcement procedure. Example, start or initiate social

activity. Let us go to the field and play ball, let us go and watch movies.

Reward self and others with congratulatory statement or having or giving

favourite snacks. List consequences for unacceptable behaviour

Example- if you fight, you will not watch the television for two days.

The skills mentioned above will help the participants in handling tension

and anxiety. The objective is to guide the participants with the skills to

reduce anxiety.

Session Five

Skills for Handling Depression

Reviews of the last session .Participants were guided on how to make a

realistic evaluation of their environment. Example-. The participants

should be able to notice when the abuser is tensed or provoked, then try

not to put self in direct contact with him or her. Example- respect the

abuser , do not violate his or her personal space ,do not insult him or

her first , do not report or blame him or her first .Do not take his or her

possession without permission. Do not use violent ways of dealing with

unacceptable behaviour. Example talk it over, instead of hitting or

punishing the abuser if violence erupts at home, avoid direct contact

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with the abuser .Make positive friendship outside home, it is better to

seek positive friendship outside the home as an additional source of

support .Example-when the home becomes so tensed, go and see your

friends and play with them instead of hiding at home and feeling

depressed.

Session Six-

Skills to Maintain Family Relationships.

Review of the last session.

Conflict resolution skills- The researcher drew some exercises designed

to elicit useful information about conflict resolution and coping skills in

the home. The researcher provided one game played by two for three

people. The role play on conflict resolution was by the researcher and

research assistants using the Luda game made for two, provided for

three people to play to demonstrate this. After the demonstration, the

researcher appointed three participants and asked them to pretend that

the game was what three of them really wanted to play right away and

asked them to decide who gets the game first and when it is time for the

other to play. After their own decisions, the skill was properly explained

to them to avoid conflict at home.

Appropriate communication skills: - Communication Skills were

taught-rules, agreements, how to communicate, and new ways of

responding Example- if one is talking, others should listen, respect for

one another were demonstrated and discussed. House rules were taught

for example- Obtain permission before you borrow , reach an agreement

on who does what chores , list consequences if the task is not done to

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avoid conflict at home. Participants were told to inform parents and

significant others about any type of behaviour before it escalate into

maltreatment. They were taught to abstain from criticizing, blaming and

complaining rather, they were told to confront the perpetrator none

violently and talk it over. For example, when you have issues to settle

with your sister or brother do not fight or confront your sibling

aggressively, rather say, Tope, can we talk?

Assertiveness skills:-Participants were taught to be assertive .Example-

they were taught to say “NO” to inappropriate touches, to distinguish

good touches from secret touches. Example- if you are sleeping and your

brother comes to fondle your breast, this is inappropriate it is different

from when your brother is passing and mistakenly touches it.

Participants were told that they have a right to say” „don‟t beat me “or

don‟t insult me. They were taught to give assertive response to a

perpetrator, for example –„Please leave me alone‟. “I will report you to our

parents”. I am not interested because it is wrong. They were also taught

the 3RS-Recognise- be sensitive before a situation escalates to

maltreatments, Resist –with assertiveness and Report-without fear.

Session V11

Interactive session. Reviews of earlier topics discussed. Questions were

asked by participants, the questions were answered either by the

participants or by the researcher to help them clarify issues that were

not clear, there were clarifications and evaluation of skills taught.

Participants were told to practice what they have been taught at home to

reduce conflict. Feedback as to how much they have benefited from the

training through asking the participants questions and presenting some

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conflict situations and asked them to proffer a plausible solutions was

done by the researcher.

3.10.3 Treatment Two- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)-Contends that dysfunctional

emotions are the product of dysfunctional thoughts. The rationale for the

treatment is to help participants to positively restructure, perceive and

evaluate challenging situations. This will enable them to develop better

ways of perceiving and thinking about problems as a way of reducing

problem symptoms arising from sibling maltreatment. The researcher

guides the participants to reframe negative ideas into more positive ones

to encourage the development of adaptive ways of coping with

psychosocial problems emanating from sibling maltreatment. The

treatment lasted for seven weeks with a session of one hour per week.

The Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) technique used were based on

procedures outlined by (Beck, 1976; Meichenbaum, 1997; McKay, Davis

and Fanning1997)

3.10.4 Procedure for Treatment

Session One

Establishment of rapport: The researcher established rapport with the

participants and stressed the need for confidentiality. Participants were

made to feel free to discuss their thoughts and feeling by the researcher

introducing herself to participants and allowing the participants to

shake one another. Rationale, procedures and benefits of the training

were outlined by the researcher. Participants were taught progressive

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relaxation and deep breathing exercises for ten minutes adapted from

McKay, Davis and Fanning (1997).

Participants were trained to relax at the end of each breathing exercises.

The researcher told the participants that the exercises will help their

brain to relax, that the more the brain is relaxed the more it will help

them assimilate and process the therapeutic information given them

easily. Participants were reminded that subsequent sessions will begin

with similar exercises to help participants assimilate easily.

Identification of Problems. The researcher pasted a comic script

adapted from Benson, Schindler-Zimmerman and Martin (1991)

depicting violent relationship between two abusive siblings at home.

After narrating the scenes, the researcher with two research assistants

role played the scenes narrated, containing beats of physical and

emotional maltreatment by siblings. Based on the interactions, the

researcher asked the participants to identify actions, utterances, moods,

situations, events, emotions thoughts that can cause violence.

Participants were given a sheet of paper each to list twenty exact actions,

events, utterances, behaviour situations, moods that can cause

problems. Some of them listed more than twenty, but they were limited

to twenty. The researcher discussed the issue based on ten common

situations to enable the participants to identify such actions to be able

to avoid them before they escalate to violence at home. Assignment-

Participants were asked to apply it in real life situation.

Session Two – Relaxation exercise. Review of last session .The session

was devoted to anger management. Development of anger hierarchy--

Participants were asked to imagine ten abusive situations that angered

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them. Then list them in their order of hierarchy from the least to the one

that made them most angry .Coping thoughts and responses to control

anger were taught. Example-.by first visualizing the scene and making it

as real as possible. Coping thoughts and coping responses were taught.

Example-. People do what they want to do and forget if it is right or

wrong .I can take care of myself in every situation. I do not like blaming

anybody, it is not necessary. We have individual differences and needs,

people can change only when they want to. They were encouraged to

always practice coping thoughts so that they will not forget to apply it

when a provocative situation arises.

Assignment: Practice relaxation and other anger coping skills in real

life. Homework-Visualize an anger situation and practice anger coping

thoughts in real life situation at home.

Session Three

Relaxation Exercises for five minutes. Review of the last session. The

eight Cognitive Distortion Thoughts were discussed-. Participants were

told that individuals have different irrational thought patterns which

stem from the individual‟s believe system and unpleasant emotional

responses that lead to anger, unhappiness, depression, anxiety, low self

esteem, faulty family interaction and so on. Participants were told that

situations and events are usually traumatic, but these situations do not

have emotional content. It is the individual„s interpretation of an event

that cause emotions and determine the effects of the situation on the

individual. Therefore, if ones thoughts are changed, his or her feeling will

change. Participants were told that though maltreatment is traumatic

but it is one‟s thought, perception and evaluation of such violent

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situations that are responsible for some traumatic psychological and

social problems which they encounter as a result of sibling

maltreatment. Participants were told that negative perception of events

lead to negative effects on the individual. Participants were taught

Cognitive distortion patterns which determine an individual‟s reactions

and response. According to Beck (1976) ones thinking pattern tends to

modify or colour one‟s interpretation of incoming information.

Participants were taught the distortion or thinking patterns and

plausible alternatives to counter them to help reduce the psychosocial

effect of sibling maltreatment. They are-Dichotomous thinking, Selective

Abstraction or filtering, Mind reading, Over generalization,

Personalization or Excessive self referencing, Magnification and

Minimization and Should. (1) Dichotomous Thinking-Seeing things at

its extreme instead of in-between. Example-Everything about my family

is wrong, my parents, siblings and the home .Plausible alternative-My

whole family cannot be bad, even though my siblings are abusive, my

parents are very warm and loving

Filtering or Selective Abstraction; Focusing on the negative side of

every situation and filtering out or playing down the positive side.

Example-Your brother says you look so beautiful, but you need to

improve on your weight to look more elegant. You get depressed by

focusing only on the area that you need improvement (weight) and filter

out the positive side your beautiful face.

Plausible Alternative- Appreciate your positive side and let it act as a

source of improvements and motivation to your weak side .Example-

Though I am fat, I think I am a very beautiful and intelligent girl.

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Mind Reading-Jumping into erroneous conclusion about other people‟s

motives and actions. Example-My sister bits me up each time I stay out

late, I know he wants to kill me. Plausible alternative-Think of

alternative interpretation and evidence for conclusion Example-She does

not want to kill you, rather she wants to correct you because she loves

you.

Catastrophizing: Thinking the worst will happen and being certain it

will in every situation. This type of thinking leads to anxiety, example:

Toby has headache and will definitely die.

Plausible alternative- Make a reasonable assessment of the situation.

Example, It could only be mild headache as a result of stress from work.

Overgeneralization: Drawing a sweeping conclusion based on single

experience or scanty evidence .Always believes that if it is true in one

case, it applies to any case that is slightly similar-Example-My brother

hates me, probably other of my siblings do.

Plausible Alternative-Participants were encouraged to see it as follows:

Your brother does not hate you, your siblings have no reason to, and you

are one family.

Excessive self referencing or Personalization: Example-Always

comparing self to others, always assuming the reaction of others relate to

them. My sister is a better person than I am.

Plausible alternative-Remember that no two people are the same. We

all have our strengths and weaknesses. There are areas that you can do

better than your sister.

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Magnification and Minimizing –This group of people exaggerate or

magnify limitations and difficulties, minimizing or playing down

achievement and capabilities. This type of cognitive process causes low

self –esteem and depression. Example-Ade told Tola, you did excellently

well in English Language in your SSCE. Reaction: Example It does not

matter, everybody can Speak English (Minimization)

Plausible Alternative:-My brother is proud of my performance. Example

2: My brother wanted to kill me because I took his book without

permission. (Magnification).Solution-Do not blow things out of

proportion.

Plausible Alternative:-I should ask for permission before taking his book

to avoid trouble, it shows discipline on my side.

Should: This group of people tends to have rigid rules for behaviour of self

and others, stressing what it ought to be. Example-Musa said hi, he

should have said hello.

Solution:-Make flexible rules to always accommodate others, example-Hi

and Hello are all ways of exchanging greetings, so there is nothing wrong

with using any one.

Activity:-The participants were asked to identify and describe some

distorted cognitive patterns given to them and suggest some plausible

alternatives. Questions to answer and home work based on different

thinking patterns which they were taught were given to the participants.

Participants were told that if they understood the different thinking

patterns or cognitive processes taught that it will help them reduce faulty

thinking, enable them to make better evaluation and assessment of

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situations thereby reducing some psychosocial problems of sibling

maltreatment.

Assignment: Participants were given questions and home work based

on different thinking patterns they were taught , and asked to identify the

thinking patterns and submit it first thing during the next lesson.

Examples-1-He is always beating me, but I know he likes me (Mind

reading) 2-Life is too difficult in my family, I can never achieve anything.

(Minimization) 3-My sister is more beautiful than I am (Excessive self

reference) 4 - Our parents are warm and loving, except that they are poor

(Selective Abstraction or filtering).

Session four- This session was devoted to anxiety control. Review of the

last session Step1-Relaxation Training-Participants were asked to

engage in five minutes deep breathing and muscle relaxation exercise to

relax the brain and prepare for the new lesson, which is also a coping

response to anxiety arousing situation. Participants were told that

frequent relaxation would keep their overall physical stress under

control.

Step2- Worry exposure-Identification of anxious thoughts guided by the

researcher. Participants were told that the most anxious moments are as

a result of overestimation due to either experience or believe. Individuals

who suffer from anxiety tend to engage in catastrophic thinking. They

were taught how to recognize anxiety arousing situation and what to do

to reduce emotional arousal using worry exposure and worry behaviour

prevention.

Worry exposure-Example. My brother is coming, trouble will soon start.

Participants were told to experience this for about thirty minutes at a

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time. When such minor worries no longer cause anxiety, they could

move on to more distressing worries, Example- you noticed that your

brother‟s coming may result into beating or humiliating you, you should

retreat to safety and avoid him. They were told that gradually they would

learn to take on major worries like physical maltreatment with little or

no anxiety. Participants were told that this structured worry exposure

would help them clear their minds of worry during the rest of the day.

Participants were told that when they recognize anxious thought, they

should seek for more rational alternatives to worry, that it will help them

reduce anxiety.

3- Worry Behaviour Prevention:-Participants were asked to take a

worry situation and stop the behaviour that leads to that worry by

replacing it with another. Example-if you run away from home for fear of

being beaten by your brother, go and sit by the isle of a bus and resolve

to step on the toes of about ten passengers on that day ,some will react

and some will not .You will notice that you will survive both situations .

Thought stopping technique: - Participants were lead into this

technique to reduce anxiety through demonstration. Example= whenever

an undesired thought intrudes, loudly Scream „Stop’. Example of

anxious thought and demonstration are -I will die from my brother‟s

beating , then scream,” Stop” He cannot kill me, he is my brother after

all. Assignment: The participants were told to practice relaxation and

other anger coping and thought stopping technique when they get home.

Session Five

Management of low self Esteem and Family Relationship: Relaxation

exercise. Participants were led through some five minutes of exercises to

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calm them down and prepare them for the session‟s activity. Review of

the last session was done.

Step1- Contracting self reinforcement procedure, cognitive restructuring

and Self congratulatory statement were discussed as ways of enhancing

ones low self esteem. Participants were taught the cognitive processes

that result to or cause low self esteem. They were told that this

cognitive process makes the individual accept failure and engage in

criticisms that are not related to reality. Participants were told that their

lack of self worth is caused by their unnecessary negative thought.

Self reinforcement procedure:-They were guided on how to always

substitute logical interpretation for self denigrating thoughts. Example-

Nkem emotionally belittles his younger brother Obi thus -“You are

worthless, you do not deserve to be my brother, you are a pig.” Solution-

“I am not worthless, I am an intelligent boy and my parents appreciate

me.” Participants were told that instead of engaging in (minimizing) a

kind of faulty thinking pattern, they should reward themselves by

engaging in self congratulatory statement: Example, if your brother

beats you up anytime you take his book without permission and you

were asked not to reply him when he yells at you. When you accomplish

this, “you say to yourself, disciplined boy I made it” Participants were

told that when their thoughts about self become consistently positive,

their emotions will follow and they will feel better about themselves and

their self esteem will improve. Assignment: Make a list of ten negative

thoughts about self and think of another ten plausible alternatives to

these thoughts.

Step II:-Family Relationship-Communication rules which involve open

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communication, speaking and listening skills, respect for others

belongings, fair fighting rules and family boundaries were discussed

.Assignment- Participants were asked to practice the rules when they

get home. The aim of this session is to improve self esteem and family

relationship.

Session Six:-. This Session was devoted to Management of Depression.

Step I – Relaxation exercises; Participants were led through five minutes

relaxation exercise to keep physical stress under control and help the

brain relax for new skills. Review of the last session was done. Didactic

works- Participants were told that distorted thoughts cause

psychological problems such as depression. They were told that

changing their thoughts to positive ones can eliminate depression.

Participants were taught Identification of critical thought and

replacement with more realistic interpretation this was demonstrated

through cognitive restructuring. Example-Excerpts of a conversation

between two brothers were used as example:

John- I don‟t believe I will be happy without being loved by my brother.

Peter: - This is your belief, if you believe something, it will dictate your

emotion and you are going to act and feel as if it were true, whether it is

true or not. John :- You mean if I believe I will be unhappy without love,

it is my belief that is causing my unhappiness. Demonstration on

rational thinking : Participants were told to force themselves to replace

their irrational belief with a rational one and see what happens, they

were told not to allow events, memories, conflicts, fantasies and actions

of others to disturb them .They were encouraged to identify their

personal values and not let other people‟ activities interfere with their

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personal values.

Step2-Behavioural Activation Technique - Postulates that depression

results from inactivity. Participants were told that one of the causes of

depression is inactivity. They were told that if a maltreated person is not

engaged in a sufficient number of pleasant and rewarding activities, he

or she will be depressed. The researcher engaged the participants in

behaviour activation therapy by encouraging them to engage in more

activities which will increase the chances that they will become involved

in some pleasure reinforcing events that can beat depression. The

researcher and participants developed lists of activities that seem

pleasurable that participant can engage in. The researcher encouraged

participants to increase positive social and rewarding activities that can

give them greater chances of overcoming depression. Example-The

researcher suggested and asked the participants to engage in learning

some recreational and social skills, sports, computer training , dress

making , catering and so on apart from their school work . Assignment-

Participants were asked to identify ten activities with potential for

pleasure and write down two pleasurable activities that they may like to

engage in. The researcher checked round and asked the participants to

do so when they get home. The goal of this session was to overcome

depression by increasing the pleasurable activities in the lives of the

participants. The researcher told participants not to fail to engage in

such activities that will improve their well being and reduce depression.

Session Seven-Review of all that has been taught, group discussion,

difficulties encountered, summary of take home assignments were done,

successes achieved and difficulties encountered during training were

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discussed. Participants were told to practice all that were taught in real

life situations.

3.10.5 Control Group: Placebo

The control group was given lectures on HIV/AIDS. Such as difference

between HIV and AIDS, Condition necessary for the rate of progression

of HIV, modes of transmission, Effects of HIV/AIDS. The treatment

lasted for seven weeks with a session of one hour per week, which

involved teaching, discussions, questions and answers

Session One

The researcher established rapport with the participants and stressed

the need for confidentiality. Participants were asked to feel free to

discuss their thoughts and feelings by greeting and shaking one another.

Participants were told that the rationale for the training programme was

to equip them with the knowledge of HIV/AIDS to enable them imbibe

proper sexual behaviour and to be more aware of the risky situation to

enable them live life optimally. Participants were exposed to the basic

facts and some fallacies about HIV/AIDS, brief history of HIV/AIDS and

when it was discovered in Nigeria for the first time (1985) were taught.

After that, a question was put to them, if they believe HIV/AIDS exist.

Majority said they believed, four participants said they do not believe

that HIV/AIDS exist, they were asked to state their reasons, their

answers were based on naivety and religious indoctrinations

Session two:-

Differences between HIV/AIDS. The differences between HIV/AIDS

were explained to the participants .They were told that while HIV is the

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virus known as the human immune virus which attacks particularly a

group of white blood cells called the T-Helper cells or T-cells in the

human body. AIDS means Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome .This

happens when the human Immune virus destroys the immune system in

such a way that the human body becomes so weak that it can no longer

fight against any infection or illness, such that the person who contracts

this normally dies from it. Participants were told that while HIV is the

virus, AIDS has developed in to the disease .They were told that

somebody may have HIV and still live a normal life depending on the

person‟s immunity, medication taken and quality of life he or she lives.

Session three-

Conditions or factors necessary for the rate of progression of HIV to

AID . Participants were told that the rate at which HIV progresses to full

blown AIDS varies from person to person and the time is between two

weeks and up to twenty years which are determined by many factors.

The factors are:

1 The individual’s general immune function. This is the body‟s ability

to defend against the virus.

2. Age: Age is a determining factor because the older the person the

greater the risk of rapid disease progression.

3 Poor accesses to health care facilities: If the infected person cannot

have easy access to good health care facilities, also ignorance on the part

of the individual will affect the rate of progression of HIV to AIDS

4 The presence of co–existing infection. If the infected person already

has other infections in the body such as tuberculosis and cancer.

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5. The person’s genetic inheritance:-Some people have high

immunity more than others. This is due to traits inherited from

parents at birth.

Session Four:

This session was dedicated to modes of transmission of HIV/AIDS:

participants were told that HIV/AIDS are mostly contracted through the

exchange of body fluids mainly through sexual intercourse .These are:–

1 By Contaminated blood-Through transfusion of unscreened blood

from an infected person.

2. Through the use of hypodermic needles:-Using syringes or needles

used for or by intravenous drug addicts.

3:-From an infected mother to the baby: This could be during

pregnancy or at child birth through the birth canal.

Session Five:

Effects of HIV/AIDS. The participants were lead into the damaging and

devastating effects of HIV/AIDS. Participants were told that AIDS not

only carry heavy death tolls, that it reduces life expectancy .HIV/AIDS

has brought about malnutrition, hunger and breakdown of family

structures. It has reduced skilled man power due to the premature

deaths caused by AIDS.

Social Stigmatization and Discrimination against the Victims.

Participants were told that stigma exist around the victims of HIV/AIDS

in variety of ways which cause them more pain and anguish , such as

Ostracism, rejection, discrimination, avoidance of infected people,

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violence against HIV/AIDS infected people and the quarantine (isolation)

of these victims. They were told that stigmatization of AIDS victims bring

about fear and anxiety among them that people die more from

stigmatization than from the disease. The participants were advised to

consider these effects and try to imbibe appropriate and healthy sexual

behaviour till and when they are of age and beyond.

Session Six: Participants were taught some approaches and

interventions for the prevention and reduction of this deadly epidemic.

They were asked to adopt the approaches to help them reduce the risk of

acquiring HIV/AIDS. They were taught the ABC approach which

involve:-

A- Abstinence or delay of sexual activities especially at their present

ages till they are out of school, get married, start work and settle

down to family life.

B- Being faithful especially for those in committed relationship. They

were told not to engage in all these for their own good.

C- Condom use for those who engage in risky sexual behaviour such

as promiscuity, homosexuality and prostitution. However, at the

end of the teaching they were advised to avoid all these and be

preoccupied with their academic works and school.

D- Session Seven:-There was a general discussion of the training

programme. Questions were entertained from participants.

Participants discussed their fears about the deadly epidemic and

were provided an insight. Participants were also advised to go for

HIV/AIDS test to ascertain their HIV/AIDS status.

Phase III: Intervention Assessment. At the end of intervention, the

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research instruments were re-administered as the post test to all

participants in the experimental groups to check the effectiveness of

Treatment programme. The control group sixty and those who met the

criteria as victims were sixty two in number, minus two respondents

who were absent but not included in the study were exposed to Cognitive

Behaviour Therapy. This was done two weeks after the treatment was

concluded, so that the control group who are also victims and the extras

could also benefit from the programme as both strategies worked

effectively (See Appendix Table 1).

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CHAPTER FOUR

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

4.0 Introduction

This chapter presents the results of the various statistical analysis

carried out in the study. Six null hypotheses were formulated to guide

the research. All hypotheses were tested with Analysis of covariance

(ANCOVA) at 0.05 level of significance. Also Fisher‟s least square method

was used for pair wise comparison of group mean (x) to determine the

trend of difference across the groups where the F- ratio from ANCOVA

was found significant. The chapter is divided into seven sections. The

first section gives the baseline assessment, section two deals with the

relative effectiveness of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Social

Problems solving skills on Anxiety. Section three gives the relative

effectiveness of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Social Problem Solving

skills on Family relationship of participants.

The relative effectiveness of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Social

Problem Solving Skills on self esteem of participants is presented in

section four. The data relating to hypothesis four dealing with the

effectiveness of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Social problems solving

skills on Depression are presented in section Five. The data relating to

hypothesis five, that is gender effect on post test of self- esteem, anxiety,

family relationship, self esteem and depression are presented in section

six. Also data relating to hypothesis six on interaction effect of gender

and treatment on post test of anxiety, family relationship, self esteem

and depression are presented in section seven. The chapter concludes

with a summary of findings of the study.

126

Hypothesis One There is no significant difference in the pretest, and

posttest scores on anxiety among participants in the three experimental

groups. The result of analysis is presented in Tables 4 & 5.

Table 4:-Descriptive Data on Difference in Manifest Anxiety and Experimental

Conditions.

Pretest Post test

Experimental Condition

Gender N X SD X SD MD

Social Problem Solving Skills

Male 30 57.35 3.19 51.22 5.46 -6.13

Female 30 58.79 4.36 51.68 4.92 -7.11

Total 60 58.07 7.14 51.45 6.85 -6.62

Cognitive

Behaviour Therapy

Male 30 59.71 6.36 53.16 4.22 -6.55

Female 30 60.14 8.21 52.77 5.81 -7.37

Total 60 59.93 11.35 52.97 8.47 -6.96

Control Male 30 58.68 7.24 57.05 4.68 -1.63

Female 30 59.48 6.34 57.38 6.43 -2.10

Total 60 59.08 12.17 57.22 8.75 -2.26

Total Male 90 58.58 5.60 53.81 4.79 -4.77

Female 90 59.47 6.30 53.93 5.72 -5.53

Grand Mean

180 59.03 10.21 53.88 8.02 -5.28

Results on Table 4 show that the students had their anxiety levels

reduced. This trend of reduction was observed at post test. The social

problem solving skills had the highest reduction post test mean (51.22)

and mean difference of (-6.13). The three groups evidenced negative

127

mean differences implying lower post test scores. To determine whether

significant differences exist in manifest anxiety across experimental

conditions using Analysis of Covariance

Table 5: Analysis of Covariance and Differences in Manifest Anxiety

and experimental groups

Sources of Variation

Sum of Squares

Degree of

Freedom

Mean of Squares

F- ratio Sig.

Main effect 1242.40 4 313.10 5.34

Model 1829.65 6 304.94 5.20

Experimental groups

656.22 2 328.11 5.60

Gender 79.88 1 79.88 1.36 ns

Experimental group/ Gender

102.41 1 102.41 1.75 ns

Residual 10262.00 175- 58.64

Total 14172.56 179

Significant at 0.05; df = 2 and 175 Critical F = 3.05, ns= not significant.

The results in table 5 shows that the calculated F- value of 5.60

resulted, which is significant when compared to the critical F -value of

3.05 given 2 and 175 degree of freedom at 0.05 level of significance. The

null hypothesis was rejected. Further analysis of data based on

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significant F- test obtained was done to determine which group differs

from the other in anxiety reduction. Fisher‟s protected t- test analysis

was done, using pair wise comparison of group means as reported in

Table 6.

Table 6

Fisher‟s protected t- test analysis of post- test scores on reducing anxiety

among groups.

Groups SPSS n = 60

CBT n = 60 Control n=60

SPSS 51.45a -1.90* -4.12*

CBT. -1.52 52.97a -3.04*

Control -5.77 -4.25 59.22a

a: group means are on the diagonal;

Differences in group mean are below the diagonal.

While protected t- values are above the diagonal.

Significant at 0.05 level.

Table 6- shows that participants exposed to Social Problem Solving Skills

do not significantly differ in anxiety reduction than those exposed to

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Cal t= 1.90, df= 118, critical t = 2.00, p

<0.05. However, participants exposed to social problem solving skills

significantly have higher anxiety reduction than those in the control

group. Cal t = 4.12, df = 118, critical t = 2.00; p < 0.05.Similarly,

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participants exposed to Cognitive Behavior Therapy significantly have

higher anxiety reduction than those in control group (Cal-t= 3.04, df =

118, critical t= 2.00, p< 0.05)

Hypothesis two

There is no significant difference in the post test scores on family

relations among participants in three experimental groups. The result of

the analysis is presented in Tables7 and 8.

130

Table 7

Descriptive data on differences in family interaction (relations) due

to gender and experimental condition

Pretest Post test

Experimental

Condition Gender N X SD X SD MD

Social Problem Solving Skills

Male 30 56.99 6.43 61.05 3.26 1.06

Female 30 58.37 11.72 62.19 5.43 3.82

Total 60 57.68 13.06 61.63 8.52 3.95

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

Male 30 58.14 5.22 64.23 6.49 6.09

Female 30 57.64 4.09 63.96 5.73 6.32

Total 60 57.89 7.24 64.10 9.14 6.21

Control Male 30 56.49 3.69 55.96 2.38 -0.53

Female 30 58.76 5.24 57.48 7.12 -1.28

Total 60 57.63 8.39 56.72 11.05 -0.91

Male 90 57.20 5.11 60.42 4.04 2.22

Female 90 58.26 7.02 61.21 6.09 3.00

Grand Mean

180 57.73 9.60 60.82 9.57 3.08

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Table 7- Evidence from Table 7 shows that the participants in Cognitive

Behaviour Therapy group (CBT )made the highest post test scores

(64.23) with mean difference of (6.09). The cell means are higher than

the grand mean of 60.82. However, the females scored higher in the

Social Problem Solving Skills group (SPSS) and control than the males.

Consequently, the females made higher grand mean gain scores as

shown in the mean difference (2.22 male) and 3.08 (females).

Table 8:

Analysis of covariance on post test scores on family interaction

(relation) due to gender and experimental cond itions.

Sources of Variation

Sum of Squares

Degree of Freedom

Mean of Squares

F- ratio Sig.

Main effect 898.64 4 224.66 4.25

Model 1375.84 6 229.31 4.34

Experimental groups

409.48 2 204.74 3.87

Gender 91.16 1 91.16 1.72 ns

Experimental group/ Gender

106.42 1 106.42 2.01 ns

Residual 9254.00 175 52.88

Total 12135.54 179

Significant at 0.05; df = 2 and 175, Critical f= 3.05, ns = Not significant.

132

To determine whether significant difference exist in family relation (Table

8). It was observed that a calculated F-value of 3.87 was obtained due to

experimental conditions. This calculated F- value is significant since it is

greater than the critical F- value of 3.05 given 2 & 175 degree of freedom

at 0.05 level of significance. This led to the rejection of the null

hypothesis. With the significant 3.87 F- value obtained, further analysis

of data was done using Fisher‟s protected t- test to determine which

group differ from the other, on family relations. The pair- wise

comparison of group mean is as shown on Table 9.

Table 9 -Fisher‟s protected t- test analysis of difference on family

interaction (relations) across experimental groups.

Groups SPSS

n = 60

CBT

n = 60

Control

n = 60

Social Problem Solving Skills

61.62a -1.87* 3.68*

Cog. Behaviour Therapy

-2.48 64.10a 5.55*

Control 4.90 7.38 56.72a

X= significant at 0.05 .a : group means are in the diagonal; Differences

in group means are below the diagonal, while protected t- values are

above the diagonal.

Table 9- Shows that participants exposed to Social Problem Solving

Skills (SPSS) do not significantly differ in rate of improving family

relations from those exposed to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)

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(t=1.87; df =118, critical t = 2.00 ).However, participants exposed to

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) significantly have higher

improvement in family relations than those in the control group (t = 5.5,

df = 118, critical t = 2.00)

Hypothesis Three-There is no significant difference in the post test

scores on self esteem among participant in the three experimental

groups. Analysis of covariance statistics was used to test the hypothesis.

The results are presented in Tables 8, 10, 11 & 12.

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Table 10 -Descriptive Data on Differences in Self Esteem Due to Gender and Experimental Conditions.

Pretest Post test

Experimental

Condition Gender N X SD X SD MD

Social Problem

Solving Skills Male 30 26.41 5.23 29.75 6.28 3.34

Female 30 25.91 6.38 30.82 5.62 4.91

Total 60 26.16 7.59 30.29 9.85 4.13

Cognitive Behaviour

Male 30 25.71 6.28 28.63 4.24 2.92

Female 30 27.95 5.46 29.88 2.97 1.93

Total 60 26.83 7.05 29.26 6.83 2.43

Control Male 30 25.09 6.33 25.72 5.33 0.63

Female 30 27.65 5.92 26.94 3.96 -0.71

Total 60 26.37 9.26 26.33 4.81 -0.04

Total Male 90 26.74 5.95 28.03 5.28 2.30

Female 90 27.17 5.92 29.21 4.50 1.90

Grand Mean

180 26.46 7.97 26.63 7.16 2.17

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The results in Table 10- show that the females had higher mean scores

than the males. The mean scores at post test for the three groups were

30.82, 29.88 and 26.94 for the females. These scores were higher than

those for the males (29.75, 28.63 and 25.72). The grand mean for the

female (29.21) is higher than that of the males (28.03).

Table 11

Analysis of Covariance on Difference in Self Esteem Due to Gender

and Experimental Condition.

Sources of Variation

Sum of Squares

Degree of Freedom

Mean of Squares

F- ratio Sig.

Main effect 648.26 4 162.07 4.08

Model 835.92 6 139.32 3.51

Experimental groups

261.09 2 130.35 3.29

Gender 112.41 1 112.41 2.83

Experimental group/ Gender

121.84 1 121.84 3.07

Residual 6944.00 175

Total 8923.52 179

* Significant at 0.05, df = 2 & 175, Critical F = 3.05

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To determine whether significant difference in self esteem exist, the

result as presented in Table 11 shows that a calculated F-value of 3.29

was obtained. This calculated F value is significant since it is greater

than the critical F- value of 3.05 given 2 & 175 degree of freedom at 0.05

level of significance. The null hypothesis was rejected. Further analysis

of data was done using Fisher‟s protected t-test to determine which

group differs from the other on self-esteem. The pair wise comparison of

group means is as presented on table 12.

Table 12

Fisher‟s protected t- test analysis of difference on self esteem due to

experimental conditions.

Groups SPSS

n = 60

Cog, Beh

n = 60

Control

n = 60

SPSS 30.29a 6.90* 3.44*

Cog. Beh. 1.03 29.26a 2.55*

Control 3.96 2.93 26.33a

a= group means are in the diagonal; difference in group means are below the diagonal, while protected t- value are above the diagonals. X= significant at 0.05. Critical t = 2.00.

Table 12- shows that self esteem of participants exposed to Social

Problem Solving Skills (SPSS) and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)

are not significantly different (Cal t = 6.90, df = 118, Critical t = 2.00)

However, participants exposed to Social Problem Solving Skills (SPSS)

significantly have higher self esteem than those in the control group (Cal

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t = 3.44, df = 118, critical t = 2.0, p< 0.05). Similarly, participants exposed

to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) significantly have higher self esteem

than those in the control group (Cal t = 2.55, df = 118, critical t = 2.00, p <

0.05).

Hypothesis Four

There is no significant difference in the post test scores on depression

among participants in the three experimental groups. The hypothesis was

tested using analysis of covariance statistics. The result of the analysis is

presented in Table 13, 15 and 16.

Table 13

Descriptive Data on Depression Due to Gender and Experimental

Conditions.

Pretest Post test Experimental Condition

Gender N X SD X SD MD

Social Problem Solving Skills

Male 30 35. 26 4.09 29.36 4.99 -5.9

Female 30 36. 18 5.33 28.74 6.21 -7.44 Total 60 35.72 6.20 29.65 8.42 -6.07 Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

Male 30 35.07 8.46 31.24 6.75 -3.83

Female 30 34.81 5.02 31.16 8.46 -3.65 Total 60 34.14 6.41 30.70 11.62 -3.44 Control Male 30 36.24 3.16 35.19 7.65 -1.05 Female 30 36.83 5.77 36.25 9.47 -0.58 Total 60 36.54 4.96 35.72 13.17. -0.82 Total Male 90 35.52 5.24 31.93 6.46 -3.60 Female 90 35.94 5.37 19.97 8.05 -3.89

Grand Mean

180 35.47 5.86 32.02 11.07 -3.44

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Evidence from Table 13 shows that participants in the Social Problem

Solving Skills (SPSS) made the lowest post test scores (28.74) and mean

difference (-7.44) on depression. These means are lower than the grand

mean of (32.02). The males scored higher in the two experimental groups

than the females with post test means of (29.36) and (31.24)

respectively. Consequently, the males made the higher grand mean gains

scores as shown in the mean difference -3.60 (male) and -3.89 (female).

On whether the depression reduction was significant, the result of the

analysis is presented on Table 14.

Table 14-Analysis of Covariance on Depression Reduction Due to

Gender and Experimental Condition

Sources of

Variation

Sum of

Squares

Degree

of Freedom

Mean of

Squares

F- ratio Sig.

Main effect 1106.54 4 276.64 5.18

Model 1427.84 6 237.97 4.46

Experimental groups

428.36 2 214.18 4.01 ns

Gender 128.44 1 128.44 2.40 ns

Experimental group/ Gender

167.68 1 167.68 3.14

Residual 9348.50 175 53.42

Total 29207.66 179

* Significant at 0.05; df = 2 & 175, and f = 3.05

Table 14- shows that a calculated F–value of 4.01 resulted as the

differences in post test scores of participants on depression reduction

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due to experimental condition. This calculated F- value is significant

since it is greater than the critical F-value of 3.05 given 2 & 175 degree

of freedom at 0.05 level of significance. The null hypothesis was rejected.

Table 15. Fisher’s protected t- test Analysis of Difference on

Depression Across Experimental Groups.

Groups SPSS

n = 60

Cog, Beh

n = 60

Control

n = 60

SPSS 29.05a -1.23* -4.75*

C BT. -1.65 30.70a -3.75*

Control -6 .67 -5.02 35.72a

a : Group means are in the diagonal; differences in group means are

below the diagonal, while the protected t - value are above the diagonal

Significant at 0.05.

Table 15 shows that participants exposed to Social Problem Solving

Skills (SPSS) and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) were similar in

manifest depression reduction (Cal t= 1.23, df = 118, critical t= 2.00, p>

0.05). However participants exposed to Social Problem Solving Skills

(SPSS) significantly have higher depression reduction manifestation than

those in the control group (Cal t = 4.75, df = 118, Critical t =2.00. p<

0.05). Similarly, Participants exposed to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

significantly have higher depression reduction manifestation than those

in the control group.

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Hypothesis Five

There is no significant gender differences in the pretest and post test

scores of participants on the dependent variables (anxiety, family

relation, self –esteem and depression) in the experimental groups. The

data for the analysis of the hypothesis is as reflected in Tables 4, 7, 10,

and 13 respectively. To determine whether significant gender difference

exist in manifest anxiety, the result is as presented in Table 6. The table

shows that the calculated F-value of 3.90 given 1and 175 degree of

freedom at 0.05 level of significance. On gender difference on family

relation among participants, a calculated F-value of 1.72 resulted (see

Table 8). This calculated F-Value is not significant since it is less than

the critical F- value of 3.90 given 1 & 175 degrees of freedom and 0.05

level of significance.

On gender difference and self esteem among participants, Table 11

shows a non significant F-value of 2.83 which is less than the critical F-

value of 3.90 given 1and 175 degree of freedom at 0.05 level of

significance. On gender differences in depression reduction. In (Table

14) an F- value of 2.40 resulted, which is not significant since it is less

than the critical F- value of 3.90 given l and 175 degree of freedom at

0.05 level of significance. Generally it was observed that gender had no

significant impact on any of the dependent variables. Consequently, the

null hypothesis was accepted.

Hypothesis Six

There is no significant difference in the post test scores on dependent

variables as a result of the interaction effect of gender and experimental

conditions among participants. The result is presented in Tables 5, 6,

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11, 15 and, 16 respectively. The interaction effects between gender and

experimental condition on manifest anxiety was F= 1.75. On family

relations, F = 2.01, On Self esteem-F = 3.07, on depression F = 3.14.

These calculated F- values were not significant since they were all less

than the critical- value of 3.90 respectively given 1and 175 degrees of

freedom at 0.05 level of significance. In all, it could be deduced that the

interaction effect between gender and experimental conditions and

dependent variables among participants was not significant.

Consequently the null hypothesis was accepted.

4.1 Summary of Findings

Hypothesis 1(rejected)The ANCOVA test of difference in posttest

anxiety scores yielded by participants in the treatment and control

groups proved significant .The treatment groups (Social Problem Solving

Skills and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) made more impacts on

participants anxiety than the control group which received placebo

treatment. This resulted in the rejection of hypothesis one. Social

Problem Solving Skill proved more effective in reducing anxiety than

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy as revealed by post hoc analysis.

Hypothesis 2 (rejected) The ANCOVA test of difference in posttest

family relationship yielded by participants in the treatment groups

(Social Problem Solving Skills and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy)made

more positive impacts on participants interaction level than the control

group, which received placebo treatment. This resulted in the rejection of

hypothesis two. Social Problem Solving Skills was more effective in

improving the family relationship of participants than the Cognitive

Behaviour Therapy. as revealed by post hoc analysis.

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Hypothesis 3 (rejected) The ANCOVA test of difference in the posttest

self esteem yielded by participants in the treatment groups (Social

Problem Solving Skills and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) made more

positive impacts on participants self esteem level than the control group,

which received placebo treatment. This resulted in the rejection of

hypothesis three. Social Problem Solving Skill was more effective in the

improving self esteem than the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy as revealed

by the post hoc analysis

Hypothesis 4 (rejected)The ANCOVA test of difference in the post

test depression scores yielded by participants in the treatment groups

(Social Problem Solving Skills and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy )made

more positive impact on participants depression level than the control

group which received placebo treatment. This resulted in the rejection of

hypothesis four.

Hypothesis 5 (accepted) tested for whether there would be significant

gender differences in posttest measures of Social Problem Solving Skill

and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy on dependent measures of Anxiety,

Family Relationship, Self Esteem, and Depression. The ANCOVA analysis

did not show a significant gender effect. This resulted in the acceptance

of hypothesis five.

Hypothesis 6 (accepted). Tested whether there would be significant

interaction effect between gender and treatment on Anxiety. The

ANCOVA test of gender and treatment interaction revealed a statistically

non significant interaction effect indicating that the combined variables

of gender and treatment did not affect anxiety posttest scores.

143

Family relationship (Accepted) tested whether there would be

significant interaction effect between gender and treatment on family

relationship. The ANCOVA test of gender and treatment interaction

revealed a statistically non significant interaction effect indicating that

the combined variables of gender and treatment did not affect family

relationship post test scores.

Self esteem (Accepted) tested whether there would be significant

interaction effect between gender and treatment on self esteem. The

ANCOVA test of gender and treatment interaction revealed a statistically

non significant interaction effect indicating that the combined variables

of gender and treatment did not affect self esteem post test scores. .

Depression (Accepted) tested whether there would be significant

interaction effect between gender and treatment on depression. The

ANCOVA test of gender and treatment interaction revealed a statistically

non significant interaction effect indicating that the combined variables

of gender and treatment did not affect depression post test scores.

4.2 Discussion of Findings

Baseline Assessment-The result of the baseline assessment shown in

Table1,indicate that children who are not maltreated exhibit low

depression and anxiety levels, high self esteem and appropriate family

interaction than those who are maltreated. These finding are consistent

with those of other authors (Caffaro and Con-Caffaro (1998), Levy (2005)

Wiehe (2000) and Kiselica and Richards (2007). These researchers

agreed that sibling maltreated children and adolescents experience low

self esteem, which may subsequently lead to inappropriate family

interaction, depression and high anxiety tendencies. To further buttress

144

this point, Parachin (2001) concluded that with experience of sibling

maltreatment, anxiety sets in and lead to problems such as loneliness,

low self esteem and depression. These can touch the deepest level of the

individuals‟ personality functioning and result in debilitating effects that

can last a life time, such as anger, faulty family relationship, depression

and argumentative tendencies. Sue and Sue (2000) linked the causes of

low self esteem to negative schema in an individual, this cognitive

process makes the individual to expect failure and engage in self

criticism that is unrelated to reality. Based on a comparative study of

emotionally and sexually maltreated adolescent with non abused

children, the result showed that the maltreated individuals manifest

more behavioural problems. The researcher is of the opinion that the

possible reason for this could be the effect of sibling violence on the

home which threatens the peace necessary for proper socialization and

nurturance of the children.

4.3 Effectiveness of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Social

Problem Solving Skills on participants’ Anxiety, Faulty Family

relationship, Depression and low self esteem.

Hypothesis 1.There will be no significant difference in the pretest and

post test scores on anxiety among participants in the three experimental

groups. The result of hypothesis one as shown in Table 4 -revealed that

there was a significant difference in the effect of experimental condition

on social anxiety thought scale used to ascertain if the treatment

methods ,-Social Problem Solving Skill would evidence comparable

treatment effects on anxiety, as would Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. The

treatment groups showed significant decrease in anxiety of participants.

145

It was evidenced from the analyses that there was a significant difference

in the effects of experimental conditions on social anxiety thought (f

=5.60, P<0.O5) Therefore, hypothesis one was rejected.

However, further evidence yielded by the study based on post –hoc

analysis as shown in Table 5, revealed that participants who received

Social Problem Solving Skill had higher anxiety reduction mechanism

than those who received Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. This confirms the

findings of (Ross, 2003; Anthony, 1987 and Briere, 1992) concerning the

efficacy of Social Problem Solving Skills in the treatment of anxiety. A

possible explanation could be that social problem solving skills equipped

the participants with ultimate power armed with appropriate life

changing skills which empowered them with a sense of control to

counter worry behaviour, become more proficient and creative in

managing anxious thoughts. It also shows that the participants acquired

interpersonal skills that helped them reduce anxiety to be able to face

life challenges.

This is consistent with the findings of Reid, Patterson and Synder (2002)

who stated that individuals who focus on their strength are encouraged

to positively reinforce acceptable behaviour. This finding is also

consistent with Briere (1992) who researched into the effectiveness of

social problem solving skills, cognitive behaviour therapy based on the

study with 42 twelfth graders on anxiety, depression, family relationship,

locus of control and low self esteem. The group taught Social Problem

Solving Skills had significant gain in reduction of anxiety above

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy group. A possible reason for the supremacy

of Social Problem Solving Skills could be that Social Problem Solving

146

Skill is pragmatic, involve creative and individualized approach to

helping people solve life challenging problems .Also participants learnt

skills to develop the strength to handle stressful life situation, live more

effective and happy life (Newman,2003) .The finding concerning the

efficacy of social problem solving skill also confirmed the assertion of

Ross (2003). Based on the research on 170 help seeking sexually abused

children aged between 5- 13years diagnosed with generalized anxiety

disorder . At the end of intervention, the group that trained in Social

Problem Solving Skills had 80% significant reduction in their level of

anxiety compared to the waiting list control group.

The finding also supported the findings of Greenberg (1993) who

compared cognitive behaviour therapy with social problem solving skills

training, in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. At 12 weeks

follow up the victims treated with social problem solving skills were

adjudged more improved with 92% scores as against 35% of those who

received Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. However, this finding is in

contrast with Durham and Allen (2000) who examined the efficacy of

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, relaxation, bio feedback and non

directional therapy in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder .The

findings showed improvement across studies; in general reduction of

worry and anxiety, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy group obtained the best

result. The findings also contrasted the findings of Becks & Stanley

(1997) in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder of a twenty year

old college student. After trying different drugs, she was treated with

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy; the client was able to cope with life

stressors, completed her education and became a successful counselor.

This study shows that sibling maltreatment is in consonant with

147

emotional adjustment which manifested in increased anxiety among

victims on several measures. The researcher concluded that there is an

association between sibling violence and this negative emotional out

come in victims. . Hence , feels that parents should wake up to their

responsibility of nurturing and positive parenting, this will enhance intra

family relationships through understanding how to promote parent

child –relationship and positive sibling interactions ,then the risk of

sibling maltreatment in the family will reduce.

Hypothesis two-There will be no significant difference in the pretest and

post test scores of family relationship among participants in the three

experimental groups. The result of hypothesis two as shown in Table-8

revealed that there was a significant difference in the effect of

experimental conditions on the index of family relationship used to

ascertain if the intervention strategies-Social Problem Solving Skills

would evidence comparable treatment effects on family relationship, as

would Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. The treatment groups showed

significant improvement in family relationship of participants. It was

evidenced from the analysis that there was a significant difference in the

effects of experimental conditions on index of family relationship (f=

3.87, p< 0.05).Therefore, hypothesis two was rejected. Further evidence

from the study based on post hoc analysis as shown in Table 9 revealed

that Cognitive Behaviour Therapy was more effective (CBT t=5.5,p<0.05)

in improving family relationship of participants who are victims of

sibling maltreatment. Result showed that the Cognitive Behaviour

Therapy group was superior to the Social Problem Solving Skills group

on family relationships. This also supports the assertion of Wiehe

(2000) that faulty family interaction is as a result of low self worth and

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poor communication. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy improved the

participants‟ self worth which also improved the way they communicated

with one another, this also improved their family relationships. This

findings support the findings of Bush and Davidson ( 2000) in a

comparative study of the effectiveness of Cognitive Behaviour therapy

and interpersonal skills in the management of faulty family relationship

among 120 adolescents randomly drawn from 32 dysfunctional homes.

The study lasted for 10 weeks with participants assigned to three

groups of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, interpersonal skills and control

groups. The result showed that Cognitive Behaviour Therapy group

evidenced higher improvement rate in family interactions than the

interpersonal group in improving family relationship-63% as against

22% in interpersonal skills group with no improvement in the control.

The findings also supported the findings of Walker and Goleman (1995)

who reviewed 180 cases of sibling maltreated adolescents suffering from

faulty family relationships and violence at home. Participants were

selected into Cognitive Behaviour Therapy group, Social Problem Solving

Group and Control group. After nine weeks of therapy, the CBT group

improved on family interaction resolving and reducing family feud more

than the other group while the control made little gain. The explanation

may be that Cognitive behaviour therapy helped the participants change

their faulty thought by learning to challenge their self defeating beliefs

which in turn improved their family relationship. The finding is in

contrast with the findings of Baker and Gelder (2004) which

demonstrated the effectiveness of Social Problem Solving Skill in the

improvement of family relations. Positive family relationships form the

bed rock of every functional family. The researcher believes that

149

complacency regarding sibling maltreatment on the part of parents and

significant others need to be addressed. The reporting procedure has to

be streamlined and made easy by the government where parents may

not be able to interrupt or normalize the information. Also clear

guidelines distinguishing sibling maltreatment from sibling rivalry has to

be defined. This would help reduce interpersonal difficulties later in life

and bring about more peaceful families and a suitable society.

Hypothesis three-There will be no significant difference in the pretest

and the posttest scores on self esteem among participants in the three

experimental groups. The result of hypothesis three as shown in

Table11 revealed that there was a significant difference in the effects of

the experimental conditions on index of Self Esteem. Index of Self

Esteem was used to ascertain if the treatment methods -Social Problem

Solving Skill would evidence comparable treatment effects on Self

Esteem, as would Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.

It was evidenced from the analysis that there was a significant difference

in the effects of experimental conditions on index of self esteem (f =3.29,

p<0.05). The hypothesis was rejected. However, further evidence yielded

by the study based on post- hoc analysis as shown in Table 12 revealed

that participants who received Social Problem Solving Skills training had

more improvement in self-esteem than the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

group. This result supported the findings of Briere (1992) who studied

the effectiveness of Social Problem Solving Skills and Multi Dimensional

Interpersonal Psychotherapy on 12 graders struggling with low self

esteem as victims of sexual maltreatment, in a group therapy of nine

weeks. Result showed that the Social Problem Solving Skill made the

150

most gains with significant difference in self esteem, while locus of

control and self discipline showed no significant difference. This result

partially supports the finding of Michale (1992) who researched into the

effectiveness of Social Problem Solving Skill and found that Social

Problem Solving Skill had significant gains on self esteem above the

control group. A possible reason for the supremacy of Social Problem

Solving Skill is not farfetched. Social Problem Solving Skills provided and

equipped the participants with appropriate skills to face life dilemma, to

plan and take responsibilities of their lives which made them confident

and in turn raised their self-esteem. Also, participants probably gained

positive mental health through the acquisition of appropriate skills

required to enable them promote corporation and bonding among

siblings that would help them to achieve enhanced positive self worth.

However, the result is in contrast with the findings of Seligman (1995)

and Akinade (1990) based on researches(Beck,1997 and Bush,2006)

concluded that Cognitive Behaviour Therapy was effective in treating low

self esteem and related emotional problems. The findings also contrasted

the findings of Akponye (1999) who studied one hundred and twenty

female adolescents from divorced homes and homes prone to sibling

maltreatment, using Cognitive Restructuring and Assertiveness Training.

The result showed that Cognitive Restructuring, a component of

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy was superior to Assertiveness training

technique. In the researcher‟s opinion, parents should be proactive in

this situation, where children should be taught early enough to

understand the consequences of this maladaptive behaviour. Fair

minding parenting is necessary, where parents should imbibe positive

parenting, monitor fighting together of the sibling, protect innocent

151

victims and consistently intervene in sibling conflicts before it escalates.

These would help nip the problem of sibling maltreatment in the board

and not waiting to resort to treatments or interventions after damages

have been done.

Hypothesis four-There will be no significant difference in the pretest

and post test scores on depression among participants in the

experimental groups. The result of hypothesis four as shown in Table14

revealed that there was a significant difference in the effects of

experimental condition on Depression Self Rating Scale. Depression Self

Rating Scale was used to ascertain whether the treatment methods-

Social Problem Solving Skills would evidence comparable treatment

effects on depression, as would Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.

Both treatment methods had significant reduction in participants‟

depression levels when compared to the participants who received

placebo treatments. Social Problem Solving Skills and Cognitive

Behaviour Therapy had positive significant effects on the students level

of Depression ( f=4.01, p< 0.05). Therefore the hypothesis was rejected.

Further evidence from the study based on post-hoc analysis as shown in

Table 15, revealed that the two treatment methods were equally effective

in depression reduction among participants who had been exposed to

sibling maltreatment. A possible explanation to the equal effectiveness of

the treatment methods in reducing depression may be that the two

intervention strategies contain some common components processes

that may account for the equal effectiveness. The two strategies have

both Cognitive, Behavioural and skill properties. While Social Problem

Solving Skills achieved positive changes through acquisition of life

152

changing skills to improve attitudes of participants (Newman, 2003).

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy achieved the gain through Behaviour

Activation, Cognitive Restructuring and stress management techniques

This result is consistent with earlier studies demonstrating the efficacy

of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Halgin and Whithbourne (2000) found

that Cognitive Behaviour Therapy was more effective than interpersonal

psychotherapy or antidepressant medication and Cognitive Therapy used

alone. These findings confirmed the findings of Harpin (1995) in a study

of the effectiveness of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy in the treatment of

depression of 17 patients who had failed to improve with medication,

after 12 weeks of treatment, there was a significant drop in the level of

depression of participants in the active treatment group of Cognitive

Behaviour Therapy as compared to the medication group only.

The result of the study supported the findings of Blatt and Felson (1993)

who treated 37 depressed university students with high level Cognitive

functioning differently with Cognitive Therapy, Behaviour Therapy and

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. After 20 weeks of treatment result showed

that while Cognitive Therapy was as effective as Behaviour Therapy,

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy was more effective than either alone. A

Possible explanation could be that both therapies involved a careful

assessment of activities, contained components which involve skills and

behaviour needed for competent effective day to day living. This also

helped them make gradual behavioural changes that improved their

environment, increased their activities and helped them learn coping

skills that reduced depression. Another possible explanation could be

that Cognitive Behaviour Therapy„s cognitive components focused on

changing the distorted thinking patterns of the depressed person.

153

The behavioural components focused on increasing positive activities

and behaviour through behaviour activation therapy which are likely to

increase and reinforce the amount of social and rewarding activities that

can bring about positive response in the depressed individual. These can

make contingent reinforcements available to the depressed and give

them greater chances of overcoming depression. This finding is

consistent with the findings of Briere (1992) who observed that teaching

live skills with Social Problems Solving Skills was effective in improving

depression levels in people. This is also consistent with Newman (2003)‟s

findings that depression could be as a result of deficiency in required

skills by individuals to solve their problems.

This also supports the findings of Osuka (2007) who researched into the

effectiveness of Social Problem Solving Skills on 27 emotionally abused

secondary school students, which focused on helping the students

develop alternatives for solving problems. After weeks of treatment,

result showed that the treatment group had significant reduction in their

depression levels but changes in the academic performance of the

treatment groups were not significantly greater than those of the control

groups. Here, the researcher suggests that the family goals should be

defined by parents in such a way that it incorporates each member‟s

perspective. This should elicit ideas about how the family will improve

through contribution by siblings, set a precedent for every - one to be

busy within the family and contribute to the climate of team-work in the

family.

Hypothesis five: Gender Differences in the Effects of Experimental

Conditions on the four dependent measures of Anxiety, Family

154

Relationship, Self Esteem and Depression. The hypothesis stated that

there would be no significant gender difference in the pretest and post

test scores on participants‟ dependent measures (anxiety, family

relationship, self esteem and depression.) The result of hypothesis five as

presented on Tables 4, 7 8, 1O, 13 &14 showed a non significant effect

of gender in each of the four dependent variables. The findings from this

study indicated that the male and female participants did not differ

significantly in the four dependent measures. Showing that the males

and females participants are equally affected. The possible explanation

could be that the male and female participants experienced similar

problems of sibling maltreatment. But this is in contrast with Goodwin

& Gotilb ( 2004) who found that the female gender is more susceptible to

experiencing depression.

This could be explained based on societal gender expectation and rigid

gender roles, which creates an environment where the male siblings are

not expected to show signs of powerlessness and hopelessness. Also the

societal messages about the males being tough and should have more

physical strength and prowess than the female ,may not allow the male

to exhibit symptoms of depression and anxiety, even when they are

experiencing such effects of sibling maltreatment. This implies that

psychosocial effects of sibling maltreatment will have equal effects on the

male and female gender. This finding appears very encouraging and may

hold some positive promise in future in reducing the prevalence of

sibling maltreatment. The researcher opines that with appropriate

training and sensitization, the male and female siblings would be

adequately prepared to combat violence among them since the effects did

not favour gender stereotyping.

155

Interaction Effect of Gender and Treatment on Dependent

Measures.

Hypothesis Six:-There is no significant difference in the post test scores

on dependent variables (Anxiety, Family Relationship, Self Esteem and

Depression) as a result of interaction effects of gender and experimental

conditions. Results as presented on Tables 5, 6, 11, 14 and 15

respectively showed that the interaction of gender and experimental

conditions on all the dependent variables (Anxiety, Family relations, Self

–Esteem and Depression) were not significant. Thus no significant

interaction effects between gender, experimental conditions (Social

Problem Solving Skill & Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) and dependent

variables existed among participants in the three experimental groups.

It shows no differential treatment effects with the male and female

participants and the two intervention strategies were in favour of the

boys and girls on anxiety, family relationship, self esteem and

depression. It follows that the treatment groups did not follow any

particular trend in terms of gender differences, showing no indication

that any of the treatment groups appeared more effective for either of the

gender. This implies that gender does not affect the use of the Cognitive

Behaviour Therapy (CBT) & Social Problem Solving Skills (SPSS) in

improvement or reduction of all the dependent variables .This implies

that Social Problem Solving Skills and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy can

be used in the treatment of the psychosocial problems of sibling

maltreatment in the families without fear of gender sensitivity . The

possible explanation could be that the male and female victims

experienced similar problems and are conscious of the detrimental

156

effects of their situation and needed to improve. The researcher suggests

the need to include elements of Social Problem Solving Skills and

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy as part of activities and therapies in

sibling maltreatment prone families both for male and female victims.

157

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS,

CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE AND SUGGESTION FOR

FURTHER STUDIES.

5.0 Introduction

This chapter is divided into five sections namely:

Summary of findings

Conclusion

Recommendations

Contributions to knowledge

Suggestion for further studies

5.1 Summary of Results

This study was carried out to determine the effectiveness of two

intervention strategies - Social Problem Solving Skills and Cognitive

Behaviour Therapy on the psychosocial problems of victims of Sibling

Maltreatment among Junior Secondary Students in Lagos State, Nigeria.

The study tried to ascertain the relative effectiveness of the two

intervention strategies. The study also investigated the influence of

gender on the effectiveness of the treatment methods as well as the

interaction effects of gender and experimental conditions on the

dependent measures. Six hypotheses were stated, tested, analyzed and

interpreted. Based on the research hypotheses earlier formulated, the

following were the highlights of the findings.

158

1. There is a significant difference in the post test scores on anxiety

between participants exposed to Social Problem Solving Skills,

group, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy group and the Control group

(Placebo). Therefore, the first hypothesis that there is no significant

difference in the post test scores on anxiety among participants in

the three experimental groups was rejected.

2. There is a significant difference in the post test scores on family

relationship among participants exposed to Social Problem Solving

Skills training group, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Control

Groups. The second hypothesis that there is no significant

difference in the post test scores on family relationship among

participants in the experimental and control groups was thus

rejected.

3. There is a significant difference in the post test scores on self

esteem among participants exposed to social Problem solving skills

training group, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy group and the Control

group. The third hypothesis, that there is no significant difference

in the post test scores on self esteem among participants in the

experimental and control groups was rejected.

4. There is a significant difference in post test scores on depression

among participants exposed to social problem solving skills

Training group, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Control groups.

The fourth hypothesis that there is no significant difference in the

post test scores on depression among participants in the three

experimental groups was rejected.

5. There is no significant gender difference in the post test scores on

the dependent measures (Anxiety, Family Relationship, Self Esteem

159

and Depression) among participants in the three experimental

groups. Thus the hypothesis that there is no significant gender

difference in the post test scores on the dependant measures

among participant in the three experimental groups was accepted.

6. There is no significant difference in the post test scores on

dependent measures (Anxiety, Family Relationship, Self Esteem

and Depression) as a result of interaction effects of gender and

experimental conditions among participants in the three

experimental groups. The hypothesis that there is no significant

interaction effect of gender and treatment on the post test scores

on dependent measures between experimental and control groups

was accepted.

5.2 Conclusion

1. There is abundant evidence that sibling maltreatment is on the

increase, but quite ignored and under reported in our society. This

may be attributed to ignorance on the part of parents and

significant others. Its effects have been devastating and

undesirable on the victims, the family and the society at large. To

create awareness and minimize these consequences, this study

was carried out. It employed intervention strategies (Social Problem

Solving Skill and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) to alleviate some

psychosocial problems of victims of Sibling Maltreatment in Lagos

State. The effects of gender on treatment outcome as well as the

interaction effects of gender and experimental conditions were

examined. A total of six hundred students made up of three

hundred males and three hundred females drawn from three

schools in Lagos State were assessed for the study. After pretest

160

assessment for the purpose of identifying the victim with high

psychosocial problems.

2. The number was reduced to one hundred and eighty, made up of

ninety male and ninety female participants. The data for the study

were obtained using four instruments. The research hypotheses

were statistically tested using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA).

There was a strong indication from the evidence of the study that

the two intervention strategies were effective in the reduction of

anxiety and depression and also improved family relationship and

self esteem of participants. Further evidence revealed that male

and female participants benefitted equally from the treatment

methods .The findings of the study suggest that application of

Social Problem Solving Skills and Cognitive Behaviour therapy

showed improvement in alleviating some psychosocial problems of

male and female victims of sibling maltreatment. This helped the

participants to develop better self image, more realistic view of

family relationships, better skills and behaviour needed for

competent day to day living.

5.3 Recommendations.

In the light of the findings of the study, the researcher has come up with

the following recommendations:

1. Parents and significant others should incorporate aspects of social

problem solving skills and cognitive behavior therapy in nurturing

and socializing children at home.

2. Parents should ensure that they develop sensitivity to what

happens in their homes by listening and believing their children,

161

provide adequate adult supervision in their absence to reduce the

anxiety of sibling violence.

3. Parents should be assisted through training on positive parenting,

how to promote positive child- child relationship through teaching

the children skills on communication and family boundaries to

inculcate in them how to exhibit appropriate family relationships.

4. Parent and significant others should encourage the children to

engage in other social activities that are rewarding and

pleasurable, other than their school and routine activities such as

sporting activities, computer training and other pleasure

reinforcing events. These will enable them to relax and exhibit less

depressive tendencies.

5. Parents should listen to their children and also respect them. The

children should be taught and corrected with love. This will boost

the self esteem of the children and reduce their feeling of

inferiority, anxiety and depression.

6. Intervention on Sibling victims should be more family based, where

the male and the female victims would be counseled with Social

Problem Solving Skills and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy on a

continual basis.

5.4 Contributions to Knowledge

This study has brought out the following which are immense

contributions to knowledge.

1. The study has established that Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and

Social Problem Solving Skill were effective in the treatment of the

psychosocial problems of sibling maltreatment .Social Problem

Solving Skills proved to be more effective in the treatment of low

162

self –esteem and anxiety while Cognitive Behaviour Therapy was

more effective in improving family relations. The two treatment

methods were equally effective in the treatment of depression.

2. This study has also demonstrated that the intervention strategies

are not gender bias and can be used on both male and female

victims without fear of gender sensitivity.

3. The study created awareness on this family violence that has

consistently been ignored and determined effective intervention for

treating the psychosocial effects of sibling maltreatment.

4. The study has shown that Social Problems Solving Skills is an

effective intervention technique for helping the victims of sibling

maltreatment learn appropriate social skills, needed for competent

and effective family relationships.

5.5 Suggestion for Further Research

The findings of this study have opened up some other areas of

future research. The direction for further research may include-The

replication of this study in other states of Nigeria other than Lagos

State.

The researcher suggests further investigation on the effectiveness

of more than two intervention methods, on more psychosocial

problems and covering many more schools for a longer time.

The study may be carried out looking at the dynamics of sibling

maltreatment from the point of view of the perpetrator who is the

architect of this negative sibling interaction, the victim and the

family as a system that can motivate sibling maltreatment.

163

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174

APPENDIX TABLE 1 (SEE PAGE 130)

The researcher brought the participants together in Ikeja Grammar School Oshodi.

Sixty- two (62) who met the criteria but were not included in the study. Sixty (60) the

control group Totaling 122 Respondents. Two (2) participants were absent.

Respondents left equal to 120.

Results:

Table 1 Means and standard Deviation of pretest and post test scores of the

assessment Measures.

Assessment

Variables

N Pretest Post Test Mean

X SD X SD Differences

SATQ 120 26.06 3.68 23.17 4.36 2.89

DSRS 120 46.17 9.45 38.36 9.34 7.81

IFR 120 45.38 3.42 47.26 1.74 1.88

RSE 120 12.03 2.84 13.66 3.05 1.64

Evident from table 1 showed that is a significant improvement on the family relations

and self esteem of participants (with means difference of (1.88) and (1.64)

respectively. While the post test score of anxiety and depression decreased showing

significant improvement on depression and anxiety (with mean differences of (2.89)

and (7.81) which signifies that cognitive Behaviour therapy made positive impact on

the psychosocial problem of the participants treated.

175

APPENDIX I

RELAXATION TRAINING PROCEDURE

1. Clench both hands tightly, making them into fists. Hold the

tightened fists for seven seconds. Pay attention to the sensations in

the muscles as they contract. Now let go of the tension and notice

the differences. Stay focused on the sensations you are feeling.

After twenty seconds of allowing the muscles to relax, clench your

fists again. Hold the tension for seven seconds, and then relax for

twenty seconds.

2. Next bend both elbows and flex your biceps. Hold this pose for

seven seconds, then let go of the tension. Flex a second time and

then relax. Pay attention to the physical sensations of relaxation.

3. Tense your biceps- the muscles underneath your arms- by locking

your elbows and stretching your arms as hard as you can down by

your sides. Let go of the tension. Flex and release a second time.

4. Raise your eyebrows up as high as you can and feel the tension in

your forehead. Hold this, and then suddenly let your brow drop

and become smooth. Repeat.

5. Squelch up your entire face as though you were trying to make

every part of it meet on the tip of your nose. Then release the

tension.

6. Close your eyes tightly and smile, stretching your mouth as wide

open as you can. Hold it, and then relax. Repeat.

7. Clench your jaw and push your tongue up to the roof of your

mouth. Hold, then release.

8. Open your mouth into a big, wide „ O‟. hold then release so that

your jaw goes back into a normal position.

9. Tilt your head back as far as you can until it presses against the

bottom of your neck. Hold, and then relax

176

10. Stretch your head to one side so that it rests near your shoulder,

hold, relax then repeat.

11. Tighten as hard as you can, release.

12. Tighten your leg muscles while pointing your toes. Hold the

position, then release as you return your toes to a neutral position.

13. Flex your toes by drawing them up towards your head as you

tighten your shin and calf muscles. Hold and then release by

letting your feet hang loosely. Repeat

14. Take a deep breath. Before you exhale, contract all the muscles in

your stomach and abdomen. Hold, then exhale and release the

contraction.

15. Gently arch your back. Hold the tension, then relax so your back is

flat again on the back of the chair.

16. Bring your arms out straight in front of you, lifting from the

shoulders so that your arms are parallel with each other. Then,

while keeping them straight, cross one arm over the other at a

point as high up on your arms as you can. Hold the position. Now

let your arms drop down to your sides.

17. Press your head back as far as you can. Roll it clockwise in a

complete circle, and then roll it one counter clock wise. As you do

this, wrinkle your face as though you were trying to make every

part of it meet your nose. Relax.

18. Tense your jaw and your throat muscles and hunch your

shoulders up. Hold this position and then relax.

19. Gently arch your back as you take a deep breath. Hold this

position, and then relax.

20. Take a deep breath and push your abdomen out as you inhale.

Then relax.

21. Curl your toes while tightening your calf, thigh and buttock

muscle. Hold this position, and then relax.

22. Gently breathe in and out. Let your breath find its own pace.

23. Place one hand on your chest and the other one your abdomen,

right below your waist. Then breathe in and out. As you do this the

hand on your chest should remain fairly still, but the hand on your

abdomen should rise and fall with each breath.

177

APPENDIX II

SIBLING ABUSE SCHEDULE

The questionnaire is designed to measure how you get along with your

brothers and sisters at home. It is not a test, so there is no right or

wrong answer. Tick a statement that is mostly true as applied to you

whether you strongly Agree, Agree, disagree undecided and strongly

agree.

Tick the correct one

Sex M F

Age 9-10 11-14 14 and above

No of Brothers/ Sisters___________________(None, 1, 2, 3 and above)

178

S/N ITEM SA A D U SD

1 Do you often argue with your sister or brother?

2 Does your brother or sister often yell, insult or criticize you?

3 Does your brother or sister often embarrass or humiliate you infront of others or your friends?

4 Does your brother or sister react badly by hitting you because of something you said to him/ her?

5 Does your brother or sister often physically strike you when you argue?

6 Do you often feel frightened or intimidate by your brothers/ sisters?

7 From the way you are threatened by your siblings, do you feel you are least favored in your family?

8 If there is something you and your brothers and sisters want and only one person can get it. Do you often get it?

9 Do you often fight with your brothers/ sisters?

10 Are your brothers/ sisters often mad at your without reasons?

11 Do you stand you for yourself when your sister or brother wants you to do something you don’t like?

12 Do you often feel like a bad person because of something your brother or sister did to you?

13 Does your brother or sister beat you up when you tell your parents something he or she does not want you to reveal?

14 Does your sister or brother say something that often makes you cry?

15 If you and your brothers or sisters make mistakes, do you get punished in their places?

16 Do you often get into trouble with your brothers and sisters.

17 Does your brother or sister say anything that makes you uncomfortable about your body?

18 Does your sister or brother touch you in a way that you don’t like?

19 Does your brother or sister do something to you he or she will never do in the presence of your parents?

20 If your sisters/ brothers are doing something to you that you don’t like will he or she stop when you ask him/ her to stop.

21 When you brothers/ sisters hit you or touch you in a way that you don’t like are you able to report to your parents without fear of being hurt again?

22 Do you and your brothers/ sisters spend much time at home alone?

23 Do you ever feel frightened or intimately by your brother/ sister?

24 If something embarrassing, happened to you, that you didn’t want your brother/ sister to share with people outside your family or parents would they disclose it to family and friends?

25 Do you feel picked on a lot by one brother or sister in particular?

26 Does your brother or sister treat you differently when he or she is with friends?

27 Does your brother or sister treat you differently when he or she is with you alone?

28 When your brother or sister shouts at you, do you believe that it is usually because you have done something wrong?

29 When you tell any of your brother or sister not to use something of yours, do they respect your wish?

30 If you could change anything about your family, would you still like to have the same brothers and sisters?

179

APPENDIX III

PSYCHOSOCIAL SYMPTOMS

Listed below are variety of symptoms people experience in life. Please

read each item and indicate which ones occurred to you over the last

week. Please read each item and tick the ones that are applicable to you

leave the ones that are not applicable to you.

A ITEMS

A

I am restless, I cannot sleep at night.

I am easily irritated, I am always personal

I am sweating, I am always worried

D I feel like killing myself, my movement is slow.

D I always want to on my own, I cannot concentrate, I

don‟t feel like eating anything, I cannot sleep.

FR

I always fight with my brother.

My sister talks to me harshly.

My mother discriminates against me. My brothers and

sister are always fighting for everything .I would love to

change my family .I don‟t like my quarrelsome siblings

LSE I do not like myself, I am worthless. I feel that my

siblings don‟t like me. I feel very ugly. I don‟t have

confidence in myself. I feel ashamed of myself.

180

APPENDIX IV

SOCIAL ANXIETY THOUGHTS QUESTIONNIAIRE

Listed below are a variety of thoughts that pop into people‟s heads in

situations that involve being with other people or talking to them.

Please read each thought and indicate how frequently, if at all, the

thought occurred to you over the last week.

S/N ITEMS Never Rarely Some

Times

Often Always

1 I feel tense and uncertain

2 I don‟t know what to say

3 May be I sound stupid

4 I am sweating

5 What will I say first?

6 Can they tell I am nervous?

7 I feel afraid

8 I wish I could just be myself

9 What are they thinking of me?

10 I feel shaky in my body

11 I am not pronouncing well?

12 Will others notice my anxiety

13 I feel defenseless

14 I will fall in their presence

15 I am not sure of my self

16 I don‟t like being in this situation

17 I am inadequate

18 Does my anxiety show?

19 I feel tensed in my stomach

20 Others will not understand me

21 What do they think of me?

181

APPENDIX V

INDEX OF FAMILY RELATIONS

This questionnaire is designed to measure the way you feel about your family

as a whole. It is not a test, so there is no right or wrong answers. Answer each

item as carefully and accurately as you can by ticking.

S/N ITEMS Rarely

Or

None of

The time

A little of

the Time

Some of

the Time

A good

part of

the

Time

Most

of the

time

1 The Members of my family really

care about each other

2 I think my family is terrible

3 My family gets on my nerves

4 I really enjoy my family

5 I can really depend on my family.

6 I really do not care to be around

my family.

7 I wish I was not part of my family.

8 I get along well with my family.

9 Members of my family argue too

much.

10 There is no sense of closeness in

my family.

11 I feel like a stranger in my family.

12 My family does not understand

me.

13 There is no too much hatred in

my family.

14. Members of my family are really

good to one another.

15 My family is well respected by

those who know us.

16 There seem to be a lot of friction

in my family.

17 There is a lot of love in my family.

18 Members of my family get along

well together.

19 Life in my family is generally

unpleasant.

20 My family is a great joy to me.

21 I feel proud of my family.

22 Other families seem to get along

together than ours.

23 My family is real source of comfort

to me.

24 I feel left out of my family.

25 My family is an unhappy one.

182

APPENDIX VI

Index of Self- Esteem

This questionnaire is designed to measure how you see yourself . It is

not a test, so there is no right or wrong answer. Please answer each item

as carefully and accurately as you can by recording the appropriate

answer per item, depending on whether you strongly agree, agree,

disagree or strongly disagree with it.

S/N ITEMS Strongly

Agree

Agree Disagree Strongly

Disagree

1 On the whole, I am satisfied with my self.

2 At times I think I am no good at all.

3 I feel that I have a number of good qualities.

4 I am able to do things as well as most other people.

5 I feel I do not have much to be proud off.

6 I certainly feel use less at times.

7 I feel that I am a person of worth, at least on an equal plane with others.

8 I wish I could have more respect for my self.

9 All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure.

10 I take a positive attitude towards my self.

183

APPENDIX

DEPRESSION SELF RATING SCALE

Please answer as honestly as you can be indicating at the right the number that best

refers to how you have felt over the past week. There are no right answers, it is

important to say how you felt. Tick as appropriate.

S/N ITEMS Most of

The time

Some

Times

Never

1 I Look forward to things as much as I

used to.

2 I Sleep very well.

3 I feel like crying.

4 I like to go out to play.

5 I feel like running away.

6 I get tummy aches.

7 I have lots of energy.

8 I enjoy my food.

9 I can stick up for my self.

10 I think life isn‟t worth living.

11 I am good at things I do.

12 I enjoy the things I do.

13 I like talking with my family.

14. I have horrible dreams.

15. I feel very lonely.

16. I am easily cheered up.

17. I feel so sad I can hardly stand it.

18. I feel very bored.