Self-Esteem as Correlate of Secondary School Students’ Social Adjustment in Imo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Aim of the Study: This study examined self-esteem as correlate of secondary school students’ social adjustment in Imo State, Nigeria.

Methodology: Three research questions were answered, and one null hypothesis tested at 0.05 level of significance guided the study. Correlation research design was adopted for the study. The population for the study consisted of 33,922 senior secondary school (SS2) students, with a total sample of 3,520 students drawn through multi-stage sampling procedure. The instruments used for the study were Hare Self-esteem Scale (HSS) and Fudah’s Social Adjustment Scale (SAS). Descriptive statistics and Pearson Product Moment Correlation were used for data analysis.

Findings: Results obtained from the study showed that majority of the students in Imo state have high self-esteem. The results equally revealed, that majority of the students in Imo state are socially adjusted. More so, the result indicated that there is a high positive correlation between secondary school students’ self-esteem and their social adjustment.

Conclusion & Recommendations: The study recommended, among others that Counsellors and researchers should strengthen their efforts in creating programmes that will help in boosting students’ self-esteem, so that they would feel worthy and able to relate well with other people around them.