Prevalence, Gender and Level of Schooling Differences in Secondary School Students Level of Shyness

This study was conducted to ascertain the prevalence, gender and level of schooling differences in secondary school students’ level of shyness in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.  Population of the study comprised all the senior secondary school class two (SSS II) and all the Junior Secondary school class two (JSS II) students in the Local Government Area.  Sample for the study comprised 400 students.  Stratified random sampling technique and simple random sampling techniques were used to draw four schools and the sample for the study based on gender and level of schooling.  The instrument used for the study was the Revised Check and Bus Shyness Scale (RCBS 1983).  Reliability of the instrument was determined by the authors through test-retest method and the co-efficient of correlation was 0.88.  Three research questions were answered in this study while three hypotheses were tested.  The statistical method of analysis adopted for the study were percentage, mean, standard deviation and T-test. The result showed that prevalence of shyness among secondary school students was 60%; 76% of the female students were found to be  shy, while 44% of male students were found to be shy), 64% of SSS students were shy, while 43% of the JSS students were found to be shy.  There was significant difference between shy and non-shy students,including male and female students’ level of shyness.  Significant difference was also found between JSS and SSS students’ extent of shyness.  Some of the recommendations made include: that parents should strive not to bring up their children in abusive homes and to encourage their children to attend social occasions such as wedding and birthday ceremonies. Keywords: Shyness, Prevalence, Gender, Level of schoolin

Family Distress and Eating Disorders among Undergraduate Students of University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

The study investigated the relative relationship between family distress and eating disorders among undergraduate students of University of Port Harcourt. The study was guided by three research questions and three null hypotheses to test the tenability of the independent variables on the dependent variable at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted correlation research design. A sample of 388 was drawn from a population of 14,000 undergraduate students of University of Port Harcourt (predominantly 100 and 200) level, using simple random and purposive sampling techniques. The instruments for data collection were Eating Attitude Test (EAT) and questionnaire for family distress which were validated by experts.  The reliability of the instruments was ascertained to be 0.73. Mean and Standard deviation statistics were used to answer the research questions while Pearson product moment correlation analysis was used to test the null hypothesis. The study revealed that there is a relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable while hypothesis 2 was not statistically significant. It was also revealed that, hypothesis 3 was statistically significant indicating an existence influence of the independent variable on the dependent variable. It was recommended that parents, educational institutions and the government should wake up to their responsibilities of teaching certain aspects of eating attitude in order to curb the danger inherent in eating disorders. Keywords: Family, Distress, Eating, Disorders, Anorexia, Bulimia, Bing

CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF PHYSICSPHOBIA AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA: IMPLICATION FOR STUDENTS’ ENROLMENT IN PHYSICS

This study investigated the presence, causes and effects of Physicsphobia among Senior Secondary School physics students in Rivers State. The study had a descriptive survey design. Three research questions guided the study. Purposive random sampling technique was used to select 500 Senior Secondary 1 and 2 (SS1 and SS2) Physics students from forty-four (44) schools in three Local Government Areas of Rivers State, which are Obio-Akpor Local Government Area, Port Harcourt Local Government Area and Gokana Local Government Area. The research instrument was a validated researcher-developed questionnaire titled ‘Students’ Physicsphobia Questionnaire’ with a reliability coefficient of 0.79 obtained using the Cronbach alpha formula. The findings of this study showed that Physicsphobia exists in students. The study further revealed some of the causes of Physicsphobia to be rumors and misleading information about Physics, teaching method, the uninteresting nature of physics lessons, as well as abstract, difficult and mathematical nature of Physics. The study also revealed some of the effects of Physicsphobia in students to be anxiety, rapid heartbeat, frustration, depression and a feeling of leaving Physics class. It was then recommended that conscious effort should be made to paint a better picture of physics, especially for students who are about to start the study of Physics.  Article visualizations

Differential and interactional influence of socio-demographic variables on intellectual ability

Intellectual ability, also known as intelligence, is a multifaceted construct that is typically measured through intelligence tests. The importance and complexity of intellectual ability have made it of significant interest to researchers and educators. This is coupled with the fact that it is one phenomenon that is influenced by a variety of factors. This prompted the study that sought to investigate the differential and interactional influences of gender, age, education, and ethnicity on intellectual ability in Rivers State Nigeria. The study employed the analytic descriptive survey design with a sample of 390 that was randomly drawn using a stratified sampling technique. A test of general reasoning ability, which is a standardized test, was used to elicit data on the variables of the study. Validity and high reliability coefficients were obtained for the instrument. Data were analysed using mean, standard deviation, t-test, one-way, and three-way ANOVA. The result showed that age and ethnicity had a significant influence on intellectual ability, but gender and educational level did not have a significant influence. Gender, age, and educational level did not have significant interactional influences as well. It was recommended that investing in education, particularly in the early years, can have lasting benefits for cognitive and intellectual ability development