Improving Psychological Adjustment of the Sexually Abused In-school Adolescents in Nigeria: The Roles of Emotional Stability, Social Anxiety, and Self-Esteem

Abstract

The researchers considered examining the psychological adjustment process of sexually abused adolescents rather than dwelling on the causes. This study, therefore, examined emotional stability, social anxiety, and self-esteem as correlates of psychological adjustment of sexually abused adolescents. The survey research design was employed. The multi-stage sampling technique was employed in this investigation. The two Local Government Areas in Osogbo were purposively selected. The researchers considered this because of the sexual abuse cases reported in the area over time. For the study, a random sample of 362 students across 20 secondary schools, including eight private and 12 public secondary schools was used. The data for this study was gathered using reliable and standardized instruments: The Sexual Assault questionnaire (α = .80), psychological adjustment scale (α = .81), Self-Esteem Inventory (α = .71), emotional stability scale (α = .78) and Social Anxiety Scale (α = .90). The results demonstrated that 41.16% of the respondents were below 12 years, 47.51% were between 13–15 years and 11.33% were above 15 years old; 31.22% of the respondents were from nuclear families, 66.57%were from extended families and 2.21% were undecided. Also, the result showed a strong correlation between sexually abused adolescents’ psychological adjustment and emotional stability (r = .594; p.<05), social anxiety (r = .605; p.<05), and self-esteem (r = .521; p.<05). The strongest predictor of psychological adjustment was social anxiety (β = .365; t = 7.804; p<0.05) followed by emotional stability (β = .340; t = 7.260; p<0.05) and self-esteem (β = .305; t = 8.194; p<0.05). It was recommended that changing the trajectories of the sexually abused requires a lot of psychological re-orientation, especially considering interventions that employ the independent variables in this study (emotional stability, social anxiety, and self-esteem). This study adds to the current knowledge about the psychological adjustment of sexually abused teenagers as a difficulty that requires proper attention. Keywords: Psychological Adjustment, Sexual Abuse, Adolescents, Emotional Stability, Social Anxiety, Self-esteem