School Connectedness, Self-Esteem, and Antisocial Behaviours among Adolescents with Hearing Impairment in Oyo State, Nigeria

This cross-sectional descriptive survey study examined the associations between school connectedness and self-esteem and antisocial behaviour among adolescents with hearing impairment in Oyo State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling procedure was employed: all seven designated government special secondary schools in Oyo State were included via purposive total enumeration, and 2,342 hearing-impaired senior secondary students were then selected proportionately across schools using the Taro Yamane (Slovin) formula. Three standardised scales were used: the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the School Connectedness Scale and the Bullying and Victimisation Scale. At the level of significance of 0.05, multiple regression analysis was done. It was found that school connectedness was not significantly associated with antisocial behaviours (F(1, 2233)=0.093, p=.760), but self-esteem was significantly associated with antisocial behaviours (F(1, 2233)=9.836, p=.002).The joint model was statistically significant (F(2, 2232)=4.921, p=.007); however, school connectedness contributed negligible additional variance beyond self-esteem alone (ΔR²≈0.000), indicating that the significance of the joint model was largely attributable to self-esteem. These findings suggest that self-esteem is a stronger individual predictor of antisocial behavior than school connectedness among this group. These associations may be affected by contextual factors unique to the special education system in Nigeria. Given the cross-sectional design, causal inferences cannot be drawn. Implications for counsellors, school administrators, and policymakers are discussed.

School Connectedness, Self-Esteem, Antisocial Behaviour

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