Abstract:
Negative Academic Emotion (NAE) is a disturbing feeling that students experience in the
cause of studying, which could cause poor mental health and self-worth. Reports have
shown that many underachieving Secondary School Students (SSS) exhibit NAE in Ibadan,
Nigeria. Previous studies focused more on causative factors than on intervention using
Mode Deactivation Therapy (MDT) and Emotion Regulation Therapy (ERT). This study,
therefore, was designed to determine the effects of MDT and ERT on NAE among
underachieving SSS in Ibadan, Nigeria. The study also examined the moderating effects of
gender and self-esteem.
The study was anchored to the Control Value Theory of Academic Emotion, while the
pretest-posttest control group quasi-experimental design with a 3x2x3 factorial matrix was
adopted. The simple random sampling technique was employed to select three (Ibadan
North, Akinyele, and Ido) Local Government Areas- LGAs. Three schools were randomly
selected (one per LGA). The students were screened using available school records and
Academic Emotion Questionnaire (α = 0.72). The instruments used were Academic
Emotion (α = 0.83) and Rosenberg Self-esteem (α = 0.72) scales and intervention guides.
The participants were randomly assigned to MDT (31), ERT (32) and control (32) groups.
The intervention lasted eight weeks. The data were analysed using Analysis of covariance
and Bonferonni post-host test at 0.05 level of significance.
The participants’ age was 18.54±0.62 years and 60.0% were female. There was a
significant main effect of treatment on NAE among the underachieving SSS (F(2.80)=
320.50; partial η2= .89). The participants exposed to ERT ( X = 28.99) had the lowest NAE
post-mean score as against those in MDT ( X = 33.38) and the control ( X = 60.30) groups.
Gender had a significant main effect on NAE (F(1.80)= 6.75, partial η2= 0.08). Male ( X
=40.47) participants recorded lower NAE than their female ( X = 42.85) counterparts. Selfesteem had a significant main effect on NAE (F(2.80)= 7.46; partial η2= 0.16).The
participants with high self-esteem ( X = 39.63) recorded the least NAE post-mean score, as
against those with moderate self-esteem ( X = 40.73) and low self-esteem ( X = 43.04). There
was a significant interaction effect of treatment and self-esteem on NAE (F(2.80)= 2.68;
partial η2= 0.12), in favour of participants with high self-esteem in the ERT group. The
interaction effect of treatment and gender was not significant. There was a significant
interaction effect of gender and self-esteem on negative academic emotion (F(1.80)= 12.66,
η2= 0.14) in favour of the male participants with high self-esteem. The three-way
interaction effect of treatment, gender, and self-esteem was not significant.
Mode deactivation and emotion regulation therapies reduced negative academic emotion
among underachieving secondary school students in Ibadan, Nigeria. Counselling
psychologists should use these therapies in handling underachieving students with negative
academic emotion.
