Need Achievement (N-Ach) in Academics as a Correlate of Bullying Behaviours among Adolescents in Abuja Municipal Area Council: Counselling Implication

Abstract

This study is intended to address the falling standard of quality of students being produced at the secondary educational level; students, who cannot boast of the necessary life skills to thrive in the 21^st Century. To gain insight into this, the researchers correlated the Need achievement of the in-school adolescents in academics and their bullying behaviours. A total of 300 adolescents in Abuja municipal Area Council were sampled of which 102 and 198 are female and male adolescents respectively. The design of the study consisted of the correlation research design, the instruments were the Peer Nomination Scale (PNS) which helped to identify the adolescents who are high in bullying. Other instruments were the researchers constructed Need achievement in Academics of the Adolescent Scale(NAAAS)and Bullying Behaviours of the Adolescent Scale (BBAS). The study was guided by a research question and three research hypotheses. The research question sought the commonest type of bullying, while the research hypotheses sought the relationship that exists between Need achievement and bullying behaviours among the in-school adolescents as a whole and in terms of gender. The findings showcased that the physical bullying is commonly meted by the male adolescents, while the commonest among the girls is the verbal bullying. The findings also indicated that there is a negative significant relationship among the in-school adolescents' Need achievement and bullying behaviours in the three hypotheses tested. -0.73, -0.81 and”0.65 respectively tested at 0.05 level of significance. The researchers, therefore, recommended that Government should engage more guidance counsellors to sensitize the teachers on the need to raise the Need achievement of students. Counsellors should also identify students who indulge in bullying and organize individual and group counselling and other programmes that could increase their intrinsic motivation or their inner urge to achieve.