MST-Department of Psychology

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Assessment of counselling needs among high school students in Nyamira division, Nyamira district, Kenya
(2012-01-11) Orina, Margaret Evans
The current study was carried out to explore and assess the counselling needs of high school students in Nyamira Division, Nyamira District, Kenya. The chief aim was to classify the categories of' problems that are faced by these students and the strengths or limitations designed to meet them. The current study was designed to assess the counselling needs of high school students. The research was designed to find out the types of counselling needs high school students had and the extent the counselling services in tile school managed to attend to these needs. Seven mixed secondary schools were selected using random sainplirrg and one single sex girls school was purposively selected. 80 students were randomly selected who took part in the study. The study sample also included 8 teacher counselors and 8 bead teachers in the schools studied. The researcher employed a survey descriptive research design and made use of the questionnaires interview schedule and an observation checklist to collect data. The findings show that indeed high school students had counselling needs that ranged from family to personal problems. It was also established that although all schools had counselling rooms and some resource materials, these were rarely utilized in most cases to meet the students' needs. The implications of these findings were examined and recommendations were made to improve the counselling services in schools.
An assessment of factors related to the effectiveness of government rehabilitation schools for delinquent adolescents in Nairobi and Kiambu.
(2007-10) Gachara, Esther G.
The problem adolescence delinquency is a worldwide social phenomenon. Of most concern is the impact of delinquency on the adolescence, their families, and the society at large, and the relationship between delinquency and adult crime, which has also been on the rise. It has been argued that delinquency leads to adult crime and therefore a life long career. There is need therefore to deal with adolescence delinquency to curb the trend of adolescents maturing to adulthood with criminal behaviors. The government of Kenya has established rehabilitation schools with the aim of correcting and reforming the delinquent adolescents into productive citizens. The rehabilitation schools then have programs designed to meet this objective ...!The study aimed at assessing the factors related to the effectiveness of rehabilitation schools with particular attention to the availability of rehabilitative programs, rehabilitative qualities of the rehabilitators, parent's involvement, school environment and at identifying the intervention measures that can increase the effectiveness .. This was done using a descriptive survey with the target population being the children, staff members of the rehabilitation schools in Nairobi and Kiambu. Stratified random sampling was applied to get samples of the subgroups in the population. The research instruments were questionnaires; interview schedules and observation checklist while data collection procedures were structured interviews and observations. The data was analyzed using both manual and computer programs and presented using descriptive statistics in form of percentages and frequency distribution.
Attitudes towards abortion among university undergraduatet students in two selected puplic universities in Kenya : implications for counselling
(2012-01-06) Nthangi, Agnes
It is currently estimated that 26-31 million legal and 10-20 million illegal abortions are performed each year worldwide. The estimated worldwide total abortions (legal and illegal) range between 36-53 million yielding an annual rate of 32-46 million abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age. In Africa alone, over 1.5 million illegal abortions are procured annually, while in Kenya it is approximated that about 300,000 abortions are procured each year. The major purpose of this study was to investigate attitudes towards abortion among Kenyan university students, and the main reasons that motivate the female students to procure abortion. The study also aimed at finding out the extent to which gender, religious affiliation, age, area of residence, economic status of parents, and faculty, influence their attitudinal trends. The main aim was to establish the abortion perspectives that students subscribe to in relation to the pre-identified perspectives of prochoice, pro-life and situationalist moderates, and to critically analyse the counselling implications of the findings. To realise the purpose of the study, a descriptive survey design was adopted. The study subjects comprised 205 students from Nairobi and Kenyatta Universities. Stratified random sampling procedure was used to choose the sample population. Primary data was collected by use of a questionnaire, which contained both open-ended and structured questions. Purposive informal discussions were held where necessary to seek clarification and additional information from the respondents. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for data processing and analysis. Both descriptive and inferential analysis was conducted. The first stage of processing and analysis involved computation of frequencies, means and percentages and generation of tables and charts. The second stage involved testing of hypotheses by use of chi-square, ANOVA and t-test. It was discovered that variables of religion, parental income, and faculty significantly influenced the students' attitudes towards abortion in relation to some of its three facets namely foetal personhood, morality and legalisation. The students also gave their opinions regarding factors that motivate female university students to procure abortion. The three highly ranked factors were: fear of humiliation, fear of discontinuing studies, and financial constraints. The implications of the findings were critically examined and the findings were found to be of significant importance in constructing programmes for youth personal-social counselling in the area of sexuality I and its related issues such as abortion. Recommendations were made for counsellors, parents, teachers, religious leaders, students, legal and educational policy makers, and future researchers.
A Case Study of Domestic Violence against Women in Kapsowar Division of Marakwet District: Implications for Counselling
(2011-12-27) Kimosop, F.
The primary purpose of this study was to find out the causes and forms of domestic violence against women in Kapsowar division of Marakwet District and to discuss their implications for counseling. A sample of 65 women residing in Kipsaiya, Kapsowar and Koibarak locations which make up Kapsowar division was selected using a simple random sampling technique, for it enabled each of the elements in the target population an equal chance of being selected. The researcher personally administered the questionnaire to the respondents and also conducted several interview schedules. Percentages and frequencies were used to describe the trend of the results. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to test the null hypotheses investigated. The results show that the major contributing factors to domestic violence against women in Kapsowar division of Marakwet District are financial/money issues, alcoholism, infidelity/unfaithfulness among partners, religious affiliations, gossips and association with friends. It was also discovered that the most common forms of domestic violence against women are physical abuse, economic abuse, psychological abuse, emotional abuse and social abuse. The implications of the results were discussed and recommendations for both counseling practice and research were made. It is expected that the findings of this study will inform policy makers, Non-governmental organizations and church organizations in formulating policy guidelines geared towards combating the problem of domestic violence against women. Family/couple therapists, social workers and church leaders could use these findings to plan and employ appropriate interventions to prevent the problem of domestic violence against women.
Causes of Close Relationship Breakups and Coping Strategies among Secondary School Students in Mombasa County, Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2021) Akida Munyi, Mwanaidi; Christine Wasanga
In light of the brief span of close relationships in teenage, breakups are very frequent and recurrent during adolescence. A greater challenge is that these teenagers may have a major challenge in coping with breakup of long and short term relationships. The purpose of this study was to undertake an investigation of teenager’s perception of the causes of close relationship breakups and coping strategies used by secondary schools students in Mombasa County, Kenya. The specific objectives were to establish the causes of close relationship breakups among teenagers in Mombasa County, to identify the coping strategies teenagers employ after a close relationship breakup in Mombasa County, to assess the gender differences in perception of causes of close relationship breakups and coping strategies among teenagers in Mombasa County and to propose necessary interventions on close relationship breakup among teenagers in Mombasa County. The study was grounded on the need to belong theory. This study adopted a cross sectional survey design. The study comprised of all the 10, 043 teenagers aged from 13 to 19 years in the 11 secondary schools both public and private and 11 teachers in Mvita Sub-County in Mombasa County. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were then used to choose the sample. A sample of 93 students was selected from the three schools and one counselling teacher from each of the selected schools was selected for the study. The instruments used in the study were questionnaire and an interview guide to collect primary data for the study. To ensure content validity, experts at Kenyatta University, Department of Psychology reviewed the questionnaire. To establish reliability, Cronbach’s alpha for all the items under causes of close relationship breakups coping strategies for breakups and gender perceptions were all above 0.7 implying that the instrument was sufficiently reliable for measurement. Analysis of qualitative data was done by content analysis while the quantitative data was coded and entered into SPSS to produce frequencies and percentages. The study findings indicated that the major reason that led to close relationship break up was the affiliation related factors with 89.12% followed by the autonomy related factors with 88.7%. The intimacy related factors as a cause of relationship break up was at 84.68% while the sexuality related factors as a cause of relationship break up was the least with 80%. The findings indicated that majority of the male students (73.3%) indicated that boys react and cope differently to close relationship break ups. Majority of the female respondents (75%) indicated that girls are more affected than boys. The girls express their feelings more openly than boys Majority of the respondents indicated that they coped using quietness, withdrawal and feelings of anger. The study recommends that school administration should ensure counseling to all students to offer needed support to those students experiencing close relationship breakups. The study recommends that the school programs should include the gender based counselling on teenage relationships to educate them on healthy relationships.
Certainty in career choice among Kenyatta University students implications for career counseling
(2007) Maingi, Lydiah Wanjiru
While the career development process is life-long, choices made during the college years are particularly significant in setting the foundation for future professional options. Selecting a career can be a daunting task for many University students who must balance their own interests with what is available in the various Universities as with their academic performance. It is in this view that the researcher aimed at investigating the career certainty of the university students. Stratified sampling was used to enhance representation of the student population while the academic advisors were randomly sampled .The main research instruments utilized in the study were questionnaires and interviews. The data gathered was both qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative was thematically presented in narrative form while quantitative statistics involved the use of frequencies, totals, percentages, and tabulation. Correlation techniques by Pearson’s product-moment correlation (r) were carried out to analyze the degree of relationships between the variables while Chi-square and analysis of variance were done to determine the significant differences between the variables. It was found out that though the students claimed to have high level of career certainty, this fact was disputed by their academic advisors and their other results in the other variables of the study. There were many factors that affected the students’ career choices amidst them being their level of occupational information, their decision- making ability and their level of clarity in their personal attributes and resources. The need for career counseling across all the levels of education was highly revealed by the findings of this study
Challenges of single motherhood and its effects on their children in Kahawa area, Nairobi: Implications for counselling
(2014-04-30) Kamunde, Annread; Nwoye, A.
Single mothers, in contemporary times, are exposed to several conflicting, distracting, difficult and stressful situations. In the past, children generally tended to rely on the advice, wisdom and judgment of their elders. In modern times, owing to their exposure to other cultural milieu through mass media, books, travel and to some extent through personal contacts with others, they are often tempted to emulate other modes and patterns of behavior. Single parenthood is gaining prominence in contemporary society. Such influence sometimes creates distressing problems of adjustments for their children. They appear to be increasingly groping for a meaning in life consonant with their ideas and expectations as they resort to drug abuse, crime, and espousal of the hippie culture among others. The single mothers who are beset with such problems are not able to function efficiently in any sphere of activity. They have problems with sources of income, childcare, employment status and situation and welfare support. It is thus obvious that the single mothers, as an important section of the community, require counseling assistance. The main objective of this study, therefore, was to investigate the challenges of single mothers and the effects on their children. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques. A sample of 353 single mothers residing in Kahawa, Kasarani division, Nairobi, was surveyed. The instruments administered for collecting data from the field included questionnaires and key informant interviews. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) programme. Cross tabulation was done to establish the relationship between variables. Other information from the focused interviews was analysed manually usmg qualitative methods. The research findings were presented in the form of contingency tables (bivariate frequency and percentage distribution) while other findings in qualitative form were presented as text. The findings of the study indicate that majority of the respondents were separated from their spouses. The findings also reveal that the single mothers experience a myriad of problems, most of which were financial in nature. The findings further reveal that the respondents were not decisive on what, in their opinion, their neighbors thought of them. The most prevalent positive child outcome attributable to single mothers was established to be their children attending school, completing their education and ultimately securing a job. The negative child outcome talked about by most of the respondents related to their children being affected psychologically. It is, however, imperative to note that majority of the respondents noted that they sought for help from the church. A few of them stated that they had been helped by nongovernmental organizations while none stated that they had been helped by community-based organizations. Recommendations made fell on three main areas: prevention, current support and future initiatives.
Computer-Mediated Communications Usage and Romantic Relationship-Satisfaction among Undergraduate Students at Universities in Mombasa County, Kenya
(KENYATTA UNIVERSITY, 2023) Muthui, Mercy Kavuli; Musili Phelista
Technology advances have turned the world into a global village. This has been made possible through the use of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC), which has become a preferred mode of communication by most people across the world and in Kenya too. Young adults, being the highest users of CMCs, its essential to understand how they use this technology and its impact on different aspects of life. At this stage too, young adults are characterized by the creation and maintenance of diverse relationships. However, there is little literature that tried to explore the experience of young adults with CMC and how it influences their satisfaction in romantic relationships. Hence, this study sought to establish the relationship between computer-mediated communications and romantic relationship satisfaction among undergraduate students in Mombasa County, Kenya. The study objectives were: to establish the relationship between CMC usage and intimacy in undergraduate students‟ romantic relationships; to investigate the relationship between CMC usage and emotional security in undergraduate students‟ romantic relationships; to determine the relationship between CMC usage and trust levels in undergraduate students‟ romantic relationships; lastly to find out possible strategies that would promote responsible CMC usage in romantic relationship among undergraduate students in universities in Mombasa County. Erik Erikson‟s Psychosocial Theory and Social Exchange Theory developed by George Homans guided the study. The target population was 9,883 undergraduate students drawn from one public university and one private university. Quota sampling was used to select participants for the study. A sample size of 370 participants was obtained using a formula recommended by Mugenda & Mugenda (1999). Romantic relationship satisfaction was assessed using a Couples Satisfaction Index (CSI-32) adapted from Funk & Rogge (2007). Questionnaires were administered to the students and 6 key informants were identified who took part in semi-structured interviews, they included; student leaders, dean of students, senior lecturers and counsellors from each university. A pilot study was done on 29 final year students from Kenyatta University, Mombasa campus. Validity was ensured through the review of empirical and theoretical literature, and the research instrument by the supervisor the reliability of the instruments was computed and a Cronbach‟s coefficient of 0.75 was found. Quantitative data was processed and analyzed using SPSS version 21 and Advanced Excel, while qualitative data which included the excerpts and quotes from the interviews was analysed by content analysis. The data was subjected to descriptive analysis using percentages, frequencies and mean scores, while inferential statistical analysis using Pearson's Correlation Coefficient (r). Results were presented using tables and figures. Results revealed that there was a statistically significant positive correlation between computer-mediated communication usage and intimacy levels, r (350) = 0.554, P=0.004<0.05, and the mean value was 4.3120 (SD = .37975); the CMC usage and emotional security, r (350) = 0.784, P=0.008<0.05 with a mean value of 4.1265 (SD= .37970); CMC usage and trust levels among the undergraduate students, r (350) = 0.777, P=0.007<0.05 and the mean value was 4.1588 (SD= .53620). The study concluded that there existed a significant relationship between CMC usage and romantic relationship satisfaction. The study recommended possible strategies that would promote the healthy use of CMC usage among students and society at large. Lastly, further studies on other factors that relate to CMC usage, the dimensions of engagement against computer-mediated devices and a comparative study to be done in other counties were recommended.
Counselling needs of children in some selected rehabilitation schools in Kenya: a study in personal orientation
(Kenyatta University, 2005) Ambira, Susan
Childrenare a basic resource for proper continuity of any society and utmost care must be taken to ensure their safety and survival. Rehabilitation centres are created with the sole purpose of re-socializing children with behavior disorders in order to rebuild their selfesteem so that they can fit back into the society. However, evidence has shown that these centres often than not have little understanding of the children's real needs, or the most appropriate ways of engaging them in these programs. This has led to many rehabilitation programs remaining largely inadequate and ineffective. In order to understand these children better and to provide them with proper guidance and counseling, their personal orientation,which reflects the inner-self, needs to be assessed. The major purpose of this st~dy was to explore the personal orientation of children in habilitation schools in Kenya with an intention of developing an appropriate counseling approach that is relevant to the needs of the children. To realize the purpose of the study! a survey design was adopted. The survey subject comprised 110 children from four rehabilitation schools in Kenya. Stratified random sampling was used to choose the sample population. Primary data was collected by use of questionnaires and interview schedule. The POI contained both open-ended and structured questions. Informal discussions were held where necessary to seek clarification and additional information from the respondents. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for data processing and analysis. The first stage of processing and analysis involved computation of frequencies, percentages and generation of tables. The second stage involved testing of hypotheses by use of ANOV A and the t-test statistic to test for independence of association. The results show that children in rehabilitation schools are non-self actualizing. These findingssuggest that these children are other-directed and time incompetent and live in the past or future with a lot of regrets and sentiments. There is need therefore to develop a comprehensiveprogramme for children in rehabilitation schools that involve the orientationof these children towards positive concept of personal growth. The outline for the guidanceprogramme for these children should be developed focusing on areas of needs identifiedby the POI.
Effectiveness of Brief Motivation Intervention in Building Resilience against Substance Use among Students in Secondary Schools in Kiambu County, Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2022) Muturi, Benadette Njoki; Eunice Githae
Drug and substance abuse among high school learners has been on the rise in Kenya. Cases of learners’ involvement in felonies resulting to school unrests and other negative consequences on students in secondary schools are on the rise. There are various committees set up by the government to investigate the real causes of school unrests, however the reports are yet to be made public. Guidance and counseling teachers in secondary schools have been at the forefront in providing counseling programs which apply diverse skills to assist in breaking drug and substance abuse (DSA). The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of brief motivation intervention on building resilience against substance use among students in secondary schools in Kiambu County, Kenya. The study objectives were to: assess the effectiveness Brief Motivation Interventions on increasing problem solving skills among students in secondary schools in Kiambu County; examine the effectiveness of Brief Motivation Interventions on the decision making capability of students in secondary schools in Kiambu County; assess the effectiveness of BMI strategy on self-efficacy building on students in secondary schools in Kiambu County and establish the challenges faced by schools in implementation of BMI in secondary schools in Kiambu County. The target population consisted of 1,717 secondary school students. A sample of 172 participants were purposefully selected to participate in the study. The study was guided by McClelland’s’ Human Motivation theory and Resilience Theory. Experimental design was adopted to guide the study using the BMI with a pre-test and post-test. The teachers were trained on application of BMI in guidance and counseling and how to expose the student to BMI protocols. The participants selected were placed in either the experiment or control group. The experiment group was taken through the BMI protocol while the control group was exposed to normal guidance and counseling procedures used in secondary schools. Data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics with the aid of SPSS (Version 24) computer programme. The study established that BMI improved the decision making skills with reduced use of cannabis taken from a mean of 3.7 before BMI intervention to1.6 after BMI intervention. There was a significant change in resetting priorities with a shift from a mean of 2.6 before BMI intervention to 3.9 after BMI intervention. Self-efficacy also statistically increased from a mean of 2.6 to 3.9 in prioritizing their academics after undergoing BMI intervention. The study generated data for use by guidance and counseling teachers and school heads to underscore the importance of guidance and counseling in secondary school in Kenya. It also provides material for use by researchers in the field of guidance and counseling in schools.
Effectiveness of Counseling Services on Rehabilitation amongst Non-Custodial Offenders in Nairobi County, Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2015) Masese, Monyenche Pamela
n Kenya today, the major threat to development is insecurity and a lot of resources have been used in implementing counseling services to reduce crime rate and enhance security. The Department of Probation and Aftercare service is a criminal justice agency which is mandated to rehabilitate, reintegrate and resettle offenders in the community. It has over 500 Probation officers who have been trained in Psychological Counseling so as to use counseling services in the rehabilitation of non custodial offenders. However statistics available in the department indicate a high rate of absconders and re-offenders. This study therefore, sought to evaluate the effectiveness of counseling services on rehabilitation of non-custodial offenders in the department of Probation and Aftercare service with the aim of providing evidence to guide future therapeutic interventions and rehabilitation programs. It specifically focused on evaluating the effectiveness of individual, group and family counseling services on offender rehabilitation. The study population was 402 which included 372 offenders and all the 30 Probation officers in the four stations of Nairobi. Stratified random sampling was used to select 102 offenders and all the 30 Probation Officers were involved hence the total respondents were 132. The study utilized descriptive research design. Questionnaires were used to collect data which was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings provided empirical evidence useful in prioritizing areas of counseling services to enhance effective offender rehabilitation. On effectiveness of individual counseling service on rehabilitation of noncustodial offenders, the study revealed that 96% of the non-custodial offenders undergoing counseling indicated that the individual counseling services had impacted on their beliefs, feelings and behavior. Most of the respondents rated the linkage between group therapy sessions and their beliefs, feelings and behaviour change as high (mean score=2.27). Further, the study revealed that family counseling services is critical in the success of the rehabilitation process of the offenders serving non-custodial sentences as most of the probationers rated the relevance of family sessions in their rehabilitation as fair (mean=2.46). In addition, 88.9% of the respondents felt that family psycho-social support impacted on offender rehabilitation and crime control. Finally, the study revealed that 83.6%, 61.2% and 65.7% of the offenders undergoing various forms of counseling stated that they have reformed, empowered and progressed respectively. However, the stl.i@yalso revealed that the frequency of meetings between probationers and probation officers was not regular. The study also revealed that the offenders do not have the relevant skills to enable them to be self-reliant economically and socially. On the basis of these findings the study has made recommendations for improvement. The study recommended regular interaction between the probation officers and probationers at least on weekly basis to ensure proper monitoring of the progress of offenders in reintegrating into the society through counseling services. It is proposed that more attendance centres be opened at the sub- location level and introduce mobile offices with aid from special support fund to probationers who are assessed to be of low risk. The probation officers should be considered for specialized professional development to enhance their competence in providing counseling services. To meet further supervision and cost challenges, it is recommended that private service providers be licensed to complement on government efforts in the rehabilitation, and reintegration of offenders. Finally, the government should come up with a clear training policy which will ensure that proper structures are in place for the proper training for all the offenders serving non-custodial sentences. This will see to it that the offenders acquire proper skills which can help them secure employment or become self-employed for self-sustenance.
Effectiveness of drug rehabilitation programs on behavior modification of drug addicts in Nairobi County
(Kenyatta University, 2013) Nzomo, Regina Nduku; Kathungu, B.; Sirera, A.
According to the World Drug Report (2007), approximately 200 million people, about 5% of the world's population aged between 15 and 64 years have either been forced" or voluntarily sought help of rehabilitation centers for behavior modification. These rehabilitation centers over years have admitted drug addicts into their rehabilitation programs meant to bring about behavior change among the rehabilitees. However, little is known about the effectiveness of the programs offered. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of drug rehabilitation programs on behavior modification of drug addicts in rehabilitation centers in Nairobi County and establish the existing rehabilitation programs put in place to help the drug addicts. The study design was cross sectional as methods of data collection. The study population was the staff and the rehabilitees of the purposively sampled ten (10) rehabilitation centers in Nairobi County. Questionnaires were used as tools for collecting data, one for the staff and questionnaire guided interview for clients. The study mainly found out that: Drug users' evaluation in terms of assessment emerges was the key program offered by rehabilitation centers in Nairobi County; staff members in rehabilitation centers in Nairobi County were sufficiently trained, with a good number of them holding degrees, diplomas and certificate from reputable institutions. They also posses proficiency in drug management and rehabilitation tasks; rrehabilitation centers in Nairobi County carried out continuing/after care services to their clients using psychological interventions, and personal empowerment of the rehabilitees; financl~1 impediments like lack of sufficient staff, medication and facilities as well as inconsistent follow ups are the major challenges facing rehabilitation centers in Nairobi County; these challenges can only be curbed by sufficient funding of these institutions to enable employment of adequate staff and acquisition of better infrastructure to enable enhanced individual attention to rehabilitees. The study recommended that: rehabilitation centers management should foster establishment and implementation of a comprehensive drug rehabilitation schedule that caters to the individual needs ofa rehabilitee and at the same time manages rehab time to avoid boredom among the patients; rehabilitation centers staff should gain insights on various needs of the rehabilitees to avoid unnecessary strife in the rehabs. They should also learn to handle the rehabilitees with professionalism to enable a successful rehabilitation process; rehabilitees in the rehabilitation program should also learn a number of personal management tips to help them adequately plan for and make the most out of the period they are in the rehab center; The Ministry of Special Programs should look into various problems encountered by staff and clients in rehabilitation centers. The ministry should then formulate policies on the funding and staffing of these centers to facilitate a sound drug rehabilitation process
Effectiveness of Group Psych education in Mitigating Occupational Stress among Nurses in National Hospitals in Nairobi City County, Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2024-06) Mutiso, Maithya Peter
Occupational stress is a major world health hazard that affect the well-being of workers particularly those involved directly in provision of human services such as nurses and doctors. Studies have reported nursing as one of the most stressful professions. This implies that nurses are at a high risk of experiencing occupational stress compared to other professionals. This research is prompted by many research findings revealing occupational stress as increasingly becoming a new health hazard of workforce globally. This study aimed at establishing the effectiveness of psychological interventions in mitigating occupational stress among nurses in Kenya and Nairobi County in particular. The study used a quasi-experimental design, and it targeted all nurses working in Kenyatta national hospitals and Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital within Nairobi County. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 150 respondents for the study. Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation and a paired t-test. The findings were presented using tables, percentages, and pie-charts. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically and finally findings triangulated to establish the effectiveness of psychoeducation in mitigating occupational stress among nurses in national hospitals. The study found that nurses experienced some forms of occupational stress. The study also found that psychological interventions effectively mitigate occupational stress among nurses working in national hospitals in Nairobi City County. The study concluded psychological interventions effectively reduced levels of occupational stress among nurses. The study recommends that psychological interventions need to been enhanced in national hospitals across the country to reduce occupational stress among nurses.
Effectiveness of Music-Based Intervention in Enhancing Treatment Motivation Among Clients in A Selected Substance Use Disorders Treatment Centre in Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2022) Chege, Antony; Beatrice Kathungu
There is evidence to suggest that some clients admitted in drug treatment centres manifest low Treatment Motivation (TM). This negatively affects the uptake, retention, participation and completion of treatment. Clients with high TM finish treatment and retain the gains made. It is, therefore, critical that the issue of treatment motivation is addressed. Studies suggest that music-based interventions may be used to enhance motivation of such persons. However, evidence of use of such approaches in Kenya was scanty. This study sought to test the effectiveness of Music-Based Intervention (MBI) in enhancing treatment motivation among clients in selected treatment centres in Kenya. The participants of this study were 40 clients in a residential treatment facility for substance use disorders. The facility had two branches (A and B) with similar admission procedures, programmes and with nearly similar geographical contexts. A quasi-experimental non-equivalent group pre-test and post-test design was used. Clients admitted to branch A served as the treatment group while those admitted to branch B were the control group. The treatment group received a four-week music-based intervention, in addition to the standard of care/usual services, while the control group received only the standard of care. A pre-test and a post-test assessment of treatment motivation for both groups was carried out using the Texas Christian University Self-Rating Form (TCU/SFR). Descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentages were used to describe data while analysis of covariance was used to test the hypotheses. Results showed that the treatment group had significantly higher levels of treatment motivation compared to the control group at post-test after statistically controlling for age and gender of the participants, among other covariates. This suggests that MBI may have been responsible for the higher treatment motivation in the treatment group. In terms of the TM components; problem recognition, desire for help and treatment readiness, the treatment group had significantly higher means when compared to the control group. Therefore, MBI had a significant impact in increasing TM and its components, namely problem recognition (PR), desire for help (DH) and treatment readiness (TR). This suggests that MBI may be a useful complementary intervention in enhancing treatment motivation and its components (PR, DH and TR) in the treatment of substance use disorders in Kenya, which in turn promotes clients‘ health outcomes.
Effectiveness of Psychological Intervention in Mitigating Occupational Stress among Nurses in National Hospitals in Nairobi City County, Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2023-09) Maithya, Peter Mutiso
Occupational stress is a major world health hazard that affects the well-being of workers particularly those involved directly in provision of human services such as nurses and doctors. Studies have reported nursing as one of the most stressful professions. This implies that nurses are at high risk of experiencing occupational stress compared to other professionals. This research is prompted by many research findings revealing occupational stress as increasingly becoming a new health hazard of workforce globally. This study aimed at establishing the effectiveness of psychological interventions in mitigating occupational stress among nurses in Kenya and Nairobi County in particular. The study used a quasi-experimental design, and it targeted all nurses working in Kenyatta national hospitals and Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital within Nairobi County. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 150 respondents for the study. Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation and a paired t-test. The findings were presented using tables, percentages, and pie-charts. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically and finally findings triangulated to establish the effectiveness of psychological interventions in mitigating occupational stress among nurses in national hospitals. The study found that nurses experienced some forms of occupational stress. The study also found that psychological interventions effectively mitigate occupational stress among nurses working in national hospitals in Nairobi City County. The study concluded psychological interventions effectively reduced levels of occupational stress among nurses. The study recommends that psychological interventions need to been enhanced in national hospitals across the country to reduce occupational stress among nurses.
Effects of Emotionally Absent Parents on the Behaviour of Adolescents in Selected Secondary Schools in Machakos County, Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2015) Mutie, Joseph
Secondary schools in Kenya are the aboard of thousands of adolescents, whose needs cannot be ignored or wished away without future dire consequences to both the students and "the world at large. Cases of misbehavior in secondary schools have become very common and although school administrators are doing a lot to contain the situation, there is still much more that need to be accomplished in order to reduce misbehavior in Kenyan secondary schools to negligible levels. Cases of homosexuality, lesbianism, truancy, sexual immorality, delinquency, drug abuse, devil worship and many other cases of misbehavior have become very common in our secondary schools in spite of the efforts being made by the school administrators....
Effects of emotionally absent parents on the behaviour of adolescents in selected secondary schools in Machakos county, kenya.
(Kenyatta University, 2015-12) Mutie, Joseph M.
Students’ indiscipline is a problem that has become common in most of Kenyan secondary schools. However, discipline of the adolescents in secondary schools is not an aspect of the school systems alone. Parents have a role to play in shaping behavior of children through the process of nurturing. However, many parents remain emotionally absent from their children as they engage in other activities. Using the attachment theory as proposed by John Bowlby, the study explored the relationship between emotionally absent parents and the indiscipline of adolescents in secondary schools in Machakos County-Kenya. The study used the correlational study design and the target population was all adolescent students with a record of indiscipline in Machakos County. The sample population was obtained by stratified random sampling whereby, 200 students were selected from ten secondary schools in different classes in the County. The researcher used a questionnaire as a tool for data collection. Both descriptive and inferential methods of data analysis were used to analyze data. The findings of the study show that younger participants in forms one and two were affected by the emotional absence of their parents more than those in forms three and four. Majority of participants as represented by 35.7% who expressed emotional parental neglect also expressed hatred for school rules and elders, and reported having engaged in different forms of indiscipline while in school. The study found strong positive correlation coefficients of 0.853 with a p-value of 0.013 which is less than 0.05 at 95% confidence level between parental emotional absence and the challenges faced by the respondents. It was expected that the findings of this study would be useful in making parents understand the need to accord their children more quality time while at home. Based on the findings, it was recommended that, employers, social organizations and churches should educate parents on the need to create more quality time by being emotionally present to their children.
Effects of Guidance and Counseling Services on Academic Performance of Secondary School Studentsin South Nyandarua Sub-County
(Kenyatta University, 2015) Chege, Moses M.
School counseling interventions promote academic success of students. The current study sought to find out the effect of guidance and counseling services on academic performance of secondary School students in Nyandarua County, Kenya. The population for the study comprised of the students, teacher-counselors and principals from 24 public secondary schools ofNyandarua South Sub-county of Nyandarua County. The study will be guided by the theory of planned action. The sample size consisted of 362 students, 10 school-counselors and 10 principals. Stratified, systematic and Lottery methods were employed in choosing sample population. The instrumentsused were questionnaires designed into three categories for students, teacher-counselors, principals. To ensure validity of the instruments, the questionnaires were presented to the supervisors from the department of psychology, Kenyatta University. Split-half method was used to measure reliability. A pilot study was carried in Mawingo Mixed secondary school. Percentages were computed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 22.0.Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and findings were presented by use of pie-charts, graphs, percentages and tables. The findings of current study showed that students perceived guidance and counseling services positively. This positive perception influenced their willingness to uptake counseling services hence their improved study habits and improved academic performance. Shortage of teacher-counselors, lack oftime, excess workload for teacher-counselors and lack funds and facilities were revealed by the results of the current study as some of the challenges that affect effective delivery of guidance and counseling services. Among the recommendations is that, teachers' service commission to post trained counselors to every school and the ministry of education to include funds for counseling department in the free secondary education fund disbursement. The current study may be of great help to school-counselors, principals and educational policy makers to improve the quality and quantity of guidance and counseling services.
The Effects of Perceptions on Compliance with the Kenya Alcoholic Drinks Control Act 2010: A Case of Residents of Rhonda Estate in Nakuru County, Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2014) Maina, Sebastian Kabue
Alcohol use has both positive and negative effects on psychosocial and economic development and for this reasons many countries Kenya included have put in place policies to regulate the use of alcohol in the society. The compliance or noncompliance of the policies may be influenced by many factors among them perceptions of the policy recipients. However, a few studies have focused on understanding how perceptions influence the compliance with alcohol policies. Using Psychological reactance theory and the Health belief model, this study sought to establish the effects of perceptions on compliance with the Kenya Alcoholic Drinks Control Act 2010 on residents of Kwa Rhonda estate in Nakuru County. Cluster sampling technique was employed where Kwa Rhonda estate was clustered in two geographical regions; upper and lower. Systematic random sampling was carried out in each stratum to come up with two hundred respondents. A descriptive survey research design was used to conduct the study. A questionnaire was used as the method of data collection. Quantitative data was coded and analysed using descriptive statistics such as percentages and frequencies. Data from open ended questions was analysed using narrative analysis. The findings of this study show that though majority of the residents believe the government was right in coming up with that law for the benefit of its citizen's social and health well-being, most of them are however concemed about its implementation. The residents of Kwa Rhonda estate view the law as one that interferes with their day to day life by punishing the low income earners as well as people who are employed in the informal sectors. Due to this negative perception, the compliancy level is quite low and the reaction to the law can be described as rebellious. The implementers need to involve the stakeholders that the residents have more trust in like the church and the nyumba kumi initiative in the Laws implementation process. They need to do a lot of civic education and refrain from using threats as this makes the residents more determined to resist any attempts at controlling them as "children"
Evaluation of the Effects of Kenya Defence Forces Deployment on Psychosocial Well-Being of Their Families in Nairobi County
(Kenyatta University, 2019-05) Mauka, Moses Silali
Military personnel worldwide Kenya included are engaged in long and protracted operations in faraway places from home. During such deployments, physical separation, poor communication, loneliness, confusion, uncertainty, temptation, rumors, financial problems including risk of injury and death take place thereby affecting the psychosocial well-being of families that are left at home. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Kenya Defense Forces military deployment on the psychosocial wellbeing of their families during the absence of their spouses in Nairobi City County. The study was guided by the specific objectives which sought to: determine the effect of military deployment on psychological wellbeing of the families; establish the effects of military deployment on social wellbeing of their families; explore the effects of the deployment on academic performance of their children; find out the coping mechanisms adopted by the families; and establish possible measures to mitigate against negative effects of deployment on psychosocial wellbeing of the families in Nairobi City County. The study was premised on Family Stability Theory, as the theoretical underpinning. The study adopted a cross sectional survey research design employing both qualitative and quantitative methods. The study targeted a population of 3000 families of military personnel deployed in conflict and peace keeping missions around the world residing in Nairobi City County. The study employed snowballing, stratified random, and convenience sampling to select 61 participants. Questionnaires was the main instrument of data collection for the respondents. The quantitative data was edited, coded, classified on the basis of similarity and then analyzed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 software, whereas qualitative data was categorized thematically and presented through narration. The findings were presented by way of frequency distributions, percentages, means and standard deviation. The findings established that the psychological wellbeing of the respondents was affected as shown by 82% were overwhelmed by uncertainty feelings upon deployment of their spouses; 80.3% of the respondents experienced social loneliness and sleepless nights; 70.5% had deterioration of academic performance; as 50.8% service personnel resorted to multitasking; and 83.6% proposed counseling as mitigating measures. Overall, the study findings show that there was negative psychological effect with 93.4%. The study concluded that military deployment has a negative effect on the psychological wellbeing of the families left behind leading to prayers, counseling and other measures to mitigate against negative effects of deployment of the military personnel. The study recommended families be provided with regular counseling, financial support, and communication between military personnel. The study suggested that further exploratory study should be done to establish the influence of spirituality on psychological wellbeing of families of deployed soldiers.

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