COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY, GROUP COUNSELING, AND SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN RIVERS STATE

Abstract

This study examined cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), group counseling and social media addiction among senior secondary school students in Rivers State. The study was motivated by concern that problematic social media use can interfere with students’ concentration, sleep, school engagement and psychosocial functioning, while evidence on feasible school-based counseling responses remains limited in the local context. A quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test control-group design was adopted. The analytical model comprised 120 senior secondary school students screened for elevated social media addiction and allocated to CBT, group counseling and comparison conditions, with 40 students in each condition. Social media addiction was assessed with the nine-item Social Media Disorder Scale. The two active interventions were delivered for eight weekly sessions. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics and analysis of covariance, using pre-test score as a covariate. The adjusted treatment effect was statistically significant, F(2, 116) = 40.92, p < .001, partial η² = .414. Students in both CBT and group counseling conditions recorded lower post-test social media addiction scores than students in the comparison condition. CBT produced a numerically larger reduction than group counseling, although the adjusted difference between the two active interventions was not statistically significant (p = .181). The study concludes that both CBT and group counseling provide defensible school-based approaches for reducing problematic social media use among senior secondary school students. It recommends structured counseling programmes that combine cognitive restructuring, self-regulation, peer learning and relapse-prevention skills.