Establishing the Influence of Guidance and Counselling Referral Services on the Self-Efficacy of Orphaned Children Living In Orphanages in Bungoma County, Kenya

The purpose of this article is to establish the influence of guidance and counselling referral services on the self-efficacy of orphaned children living in orphanages in Bungoma County. Four theories (Adlerian Theory, Systems theory, Self-determination theory and the social learning theory) were used in this research. The researcher adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population of the study was 2132 orphans in the 20 orphanages within Bungoma County. Two hundred and forty (240) of the orphans in all the 20 orphanages were purposively sampled and interviewed. One (1) caregiver and one (1) administrator (again per Orphanage) were interviewed, totalling 280 respondents. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used to collect data from the respondents. The data was prepared, coded and analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Strict ethical considerations were observed during the study. The study found a positive and significant relationship between the self-efficacy of orphaned children and access to guidance and counselling referral services. It concluded that guidance and counselling services play a critical role in enhancing self-efficacy among orphans. Based on these findings, the study recommended the development of a national policy to standardise and support the provision of guidance and counselling services across all orphanages in Kenya. Additionally, it recommended that every Orphanage engage the services of a qualified and practising guidance and counselling specialist to effectively support the psychosocial development of the children in their care.