COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY AS A TOOL FOR REDUCING DELINQUENCY AND ENHANCING PSYCHO-ACADEMIC ADJUSTMENT IN SENIOR SECONDARY STUDENTS FROM BONUS FAMILIES IN JOS, NIGERIA

The study investigated the effects of cognitive behavioural therapy on delinquent behaviours and psycho-academic adjustment in students from Bonus Families in Jos Metropolis, Nigeria. The study used a true experimental research design with four research objectives, four research questions and four hypotheses to guide the study. Multi-stage random sampling was used to sample sample 246 students from bonus families in the study area from Government secondary school. The study used three instruments for data collection which are; Bonus family screening test, delinquent behaviour questionnaires and psycho-academic adjustment questionnaire. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics where mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions and a t-test for independent sample was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 significance levels. The study revealed that cognitive behavioural therapy reduced the delinquent behaviours of students from bonus families in Jos Metropolis. It showed a significant difference exist between the delinquent behaviours of students from bonus families who were exposed to treatment and those who were not. From the result, it was recommended that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy should be used a strategy for coping with students' Behaviours and delinquent issues from bonus students in Jos Metropolis.