ATTACHMENT STYLES AS PREDICTORS OF BEHAVIORS AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Students in secondary schools are going through the adolescent stage during which there is an increased desire to experiment with a number of risky activities including sexual and substance use activities. Aggression and suicidal behaviors are also prevalent during adolescence. Such behaviors could be partly related to problems in the attachment phenomenon. The nature of attachment to parents/guardians and other attachment figures influences adjustment and behavior across the human lifespan. Much of research on attachment has however been done in Western countries. The influence of attachment in adolescents has received less attention especially in Kenya. Thus, the current study sought to investigate the relationships between secondary school students’ attachment styles and risky sexual behavior, substance use, aggressive behavior and suicidal behavior. The following objectives guided this study: to establish the relationship between students’ attachment styles and risky sexual behavior; to determine the relationship between students’ attachment styles and substance use; to determine the relationship between students’ attachment styles and aggressive behavior and lastly to establish the relationship between students’ attachment styles and suicidal behavior. The study was anchored on the Attachment Theory by John Bowlby. A correlational research design was used. Data on attachment styles and students’ deviant behavior was collected using self-administered questionnaires. The study targeted a population of 10,451 Form Three students in public secondary schools in Nairobi County. Purposive sampling was used to select three sub-counties in Nairobi County. Stratified random sampling was used to select nine schools and random sampling was used to select a sample of 385 students. Nine guidance and counseling teachers also provided information pertaining to students’ involvement in deviant behaviors and relationships with their parents. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 22) software aided in analyzing the data. Descriptive statistics are presented in tables and figures. Pearson product moment correlation at α = .05 was used to determine bivariate relationships among the study variables and the study hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analyses at α = .05. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the fitness of the regression models at α = .05. The study found that secure attachment style predicted lower levels of risky sexual behavior (β = - .182, p = .001), lower levels of substance use (β = -.117, p = .028) and lower levels of aggressive behavior (β = -.116, p = .028). Preoccupied attachment style predicted higher levels of risky sexual behavior (β = .176, p = .003), aggressive behavior (β = .117, p = .048) and suicidal behavior (β = .487, p< .001). Dismissing attachment style predicted higher levels of substance use (β = .174, p = .004), aggressive behavior (β = .157, p = .008) and suicidal behavior (β = .122, p = .018). These findings indicate that insecure attachment styles predicted involvement in risky sexual behavior, substance use, aggressive behavior and suicidal behavior while secure attachment style was protective against risky sexual behavior, substance use and aggressive behavior. The study therefore recommends that students’ attachment styles should be addressed in school guidance and counseling programs and that guidance and counseling teachers should work together with parents and guardians to enhance formation of secure attachment among students as this will reduce their risk of involvement in problem behaviors. The findings of this study may help guidance and counseling teachers, counselors working with adolescents as well as parents, guardians and stakeholders in education to design strategies to reduce students’ involvement in deviant behavior.