Influence of Motivational Therapy on Senior Secondary School Teenagers with Reliant Behavior Syndrome in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State

This study investigated the influence of motivational therapy on senior secondary school teenagers with reliant behavior syndrome in Ehime Mbano Local Government area of Imo State. The design of the study was a quasi-experimental which adopted nonequivalent group of pre-test, treatment control, posttest and follow-up arrangement. The study was conducted in Imo State with a population of 470 senior secondary school students who are victims of Dependent Personality Disorder. The sample size was 56 participants. The participants were assigned into three treatment groups (ME, SFBT & IPT) and a control group. Purposive sampling technique was adopted. Two researcher made instruments Dependent Personality Disorder Identification questionnaire for teachers and Dependent Personality Disorder questionnaire (DPDQ) 123 were used. These instruments were validated by 5 specialists, 3 in Guidance and Counselling and 2 from measurement & Evaluation. Data were collected using these instruments. The reliabilities of these instruments were obtained using Cronbach Alpha. A reliability index of 0.78 and 0.81 were obtained. The major findings included that: The mean rating scores on Dependent Personality Disorder (DPD) of the participants exposed to Motivational interviewing (MT), Solution Focus Based Therapy (SFT), Inter Personal Therapy (IPT) and control in the pre and post treatment test differ significantly. The students who were exposed to MIT, SFT and IPT treatments had their dependent personality disorder (DPD) level significantly reduced when compared to the mean response to Dependent Personality Disorder of their counterparts in the control group. Based on the findings of the study, the researcher made among others, the following recommendations. There is need for school counselors to undergo some training on behaviour modification based on motivational interviewing (MT), solution focused based therapy (SFT) and inter personal therapy (IPT) through workshops, seminars and conferences. Victims of DPD exist in various secondary schools, there is need to identify them early for modification program to be put in place by counselors and psychologists in accordance with the school administration.