Self-image of in-school adolescents in offa local government area of kwara state, Nigeria: Implications for counselling practices

Many adolescents are anxious, depressed and have poor psychological well-being due to their self-image. This study therefore, investigated the self-image of in-school adolescents in Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria. The study also examined the influence of gender, age and class type on the respondents' perception. This study employed a descriptive survey method. A total of 400 secondary school students in Offa were selected through purposive and systematic sampling techniques. The participants responded to a researcher-designed instrument entitled 'Self-image Inventory" (SII). The validity of the instrument was done by team of experts. The reliability of the instrument was established using test re-test reliability method which yielded a coefficient of 0.76. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Analysis of Variance and t-test statistical tools were employed to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Results showed that in-school adolescents in Offa LGA have negative self-image. Similarly, a significant difference existed based on class type. It is recommended among others that counsellors in schools should be allowed to perform their therapeutic roles so they can help in-school adolescents to develop positive self-image. © 2020 Eskisehir Osmangazi University.