Effectiveness of Cognitive Analytic Therapy in Managing Adolescents with Somatic Symptom Disorder in Delta State

This study investigated the effectiveness of Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) in managing adolescents in secondary schools with somatic symptom disorder in Ika North East Local Government Area of Delta State. Three research questions were raised to guide the study and three corresponding hypotheses were formulated, which were all tested at 0.05 level of significance. The pre-test, post-test, control group, and experimental design were adopted for the study. The population of the study is three thousand, five hundred and sixty-one (3,561) students, which comprised all Senior Secondary Class Two (SS2) students from the twenty public secondary schools in Ika North East Local Government Area. A sample size of forty-six (46) students, made up of twenty (20) males and twenty-six (26) females reporting somatic symptom disorder were selected from two schools using the multi-stage random sampling technique. The research instrument titled “Adolescents Somatic Symptom Scale” (ASSS) was adapted and modified for use by the researcher. Three test experts of measurement and evaluation revalidated this instrument. The reliability of the instrument was determined using Cronbach Alpha reliability method to test the consistency of the test items and a reliability coefficient of 0.70 was obtained. The instrument was administered to the students as a pre-test and forty-six (46) students who evidenced somatic disorder in the two schools were randomly assigned for treatment to experimental group A (Cognitive Analytic Therapy), and B (Control Group). The data collected were analyzed, using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation and inferential statistics of paired and independent sample t-test. The findings of the study revealed that, there is a significant difference in the pre-test and post-test of somatic symptoms disorder mean scores of in-school adolescents exposed to CAT and also, there is no significant interaction effect on treatment by sex. Based on the findings, the study recommends among others, that counselling psychologists should embrace Cognitive Analytic Therapy as an effective counselling therapy for adolescents irrespective of gender.