Dr Rasheed Ajibola Kazeem
Abstract
This study examined the effectiveness of Positive Self-Talk (PST) and Transactional Analysis (TA) in reducing self-defeating behaviour among secondary school adolescents, while also exploring the moderating effect of self-esteem. A quasi-experimental design was adopted, involving 96 participants from three schools in Oyo State, Nigeria. Two of the groups were randomlyssigned to two experimental groups (PST = 32, TA = 31), while a third group was the control group (N = 33). Data were analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) and Scheffe post-hoc tests. Results indicated, among others, a significant main effect of treatment on self-defeating behaviour (F(2,77) = 151.781, p < .05, η² = 0.798), with PST showing the greatest reduction (𝑥̅ = 61.43) compared to TA (𝑥̅ =83.03) and the control group (𝑥̅ = 105.81). Self-esteem also had a significant main effect on self-defeating behaviour (F(2,77) = 4.363, p < .05, η² = 0.102), with higher self-esteem associated with lower self-defeating behaviour. The study concludes that PST is the most effective approach in reducing self-defeating behaviour among adolescents, and self-esteem plays a crucial role in intervention outcomes. It recommends integrating self-esteem enhancement strategies into school counselling programme and training educators on cognitive-based interventions to improve adolescent mental health.