Effectiveness of Brief Motivation Intervention in Building Resilience against Substance Use among Students in Secondary Schools in Kiambu County, Kenya

Abstract

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.