FAMILY STRESSORS, IDENTITY CRISIS, AND ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOURS AMONG PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

ABSTRACT Adolescent antisocial behaviour, identity crisis and family stressors have been identified by various authorities worldwide. Previous studies were limited to the bivariate relationships between two of the three variables. The prevalence of these three phenomena - family stressors, identity crisis and antisocial behaviour - and the relationship between them was the objective of this study. Additionally, the remedies to these challenges were also reviewed. Family stressors were confined to parental conflict and stressors arising from family changes. Family Systems, Psycho-Social Developmental and Problem Behaviour theories conceptualised family stressors, identity crisis and antisocial behaviour, respectively. The study employed a mixed-method research approach with a parallel convergent design on a target population of 38,641 secondary school students in Nairobi County. Quantitative Data was collected from 398 adolescents in forms 2 and 3 via random sampling. Both genders and all school categories were represented through cluster sampling, while simple random sampling selected respondents within each school. Qualitative data was purposively obtained from 30 respondents comprising 10 students, 10 parents, and 10 teachers. Proven psychometric tools collected quantitative data. Pearson coefficient correlations were calculated using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 25) to explore the relationships between the variables. Results from the thematic analysis of qualitative data and the quantitative analyses were merged and interpreted. The study found a highly significant relationships between parental conflict and identity crisis and between identity crisis and antisocial behaviour. However, the direct relationship between parental conflict and antisocial behaviour, although significant, was much weaker than the relationships between parental conflict and identity crisis and between identity crisis and antisocial behaviour, suggesting that identity crisis mediates the relationship between parental conflict and antisocial behaviour. Evidence-based mitigating interventions for each variable were reviewed. The Qualitative analysis suggested causality flows from parental conflict through identity crisis to antisocial behaviour. The study, therefore, recommended that psychotherapeutic interventions focus on mitigating parental conflict and identity crisis with the pre-emptive screening of the latter before it manifests itself as antisocial behaviour. Additionally, communication skills training during premarital counselling, as well as the intimate communication inherent in Natural Family Planning, can protect marital harmony. Finally, social support and religiosity can mitigate family stressors, identity crisis and antisocial behaviour. Longitudinal studies were recommended to establish the causal relationship between these variables by determining the chronological sequence of their occurrence