RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GRIEF AND CONDUCT DISORDER AMONG STUDENTS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NJORO SUB-COUNTY, NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA
Abstract
Purpose of Study: To examine the relationship between grief and conduct disorder among students in public secondary schools in Njoro Sub-County, Nakuru County, Kenya.
Problem Statement: Grief following the loss of a parent, guardian, or sibling profoundly affects students’ emotional well-being and behavior in public secondary schools. Conduct disorder among students in Kenya’s public secondary schools has become a serious concern, manifesting in behaviors such as high absenteeism, defiance towards teachers, bullying, and drug abuse.
Methodology: The study employed correlational research design and targeted 24,858 comprising student population 24,515, class teachers 196, school principals 49, and 49 heads of counseling departments from 49 public secondary schools in Njoro Sub-County. The sample size comprised 467 respondents from 13 public secondary schools, 393 students, 35 class teachers, 13 Principals and 13 Heads of Counseling departments. The study employed standardized questionnaires to collect quantitative data from student population, while qualitative data was obtained through Key Informant interviews with school administrators, class teachers and teacher counselors. The collected data was analyzed with the aid of SPSS software version 29.0 using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results: Simple linear regression analysis revealed a positive and statistically significant relationship between loss and grief and conduct disorder, with grief explaining 47.3% of the variation in conduct disorder among students, R² = 0.473, F = 341.106, p = 0.000. The fitted model was expressed as Conduct Disorder = 0.694 + 0.512(Loss and Grief), meaning that a one-unit increase in loss and grief was expected to cause a 0.512-unit increase in conduct disorder.
Recommendation: Public secondary schools should strengthen grief counseling, early identification of bereaved students, teacher sensitization, peer support systems, parental involvement, and referral mechanisms to reduce grief-related conduct difficulties among learners.
Keywords: Grief, Bereavement, Conduct Disorder, Students, Public Secondary Schools, Kübler-Ross Grief Theory, Ecological Systems Theory, Njoro Sub-County
References
Ahmad, N., Iqbal, S., Ali, Z., Jabeen, R., & Imran, M. (2024). Bridging the gap: Secondary school teachers' perspectives on behavioral barriers to academic success. Al-Qanṭara.
Attig, T. (2011). How we grieve: Relearning the world. Oxford University Press.
Awang, Z. (2012). Research methodology and data analysis (2nd ed.). UiTM Press.
Balk, D. E. (2011). Adolescent encounters with death, bereavement, and coping. Springer Publishing Company.
Betancourt, T. S., & Khan, K. T. (2008). The mental health of children affected by armed conflict: Protective processes and pathways to resilience. International Review of Psychiatry, 20(3), 317–328.
Bonanno, G. A., & Kaltman, S. (2001). The varieties of grief experience. Clinical Psychology Review, 21(5), 705–734.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press.
Campbell, M. C. (2024). How evidence-based supportive guidance programs inside the school can provide social and emotional support to help students navigate through grief (Doctoral dissertation, Trident University International).
Christensen, P. (2016). Children's cultures and agency in the global age. Sociology Compass, 10(12), 1081–1091.
Cohen, J., Cohen, P., West, S. G., & Aiken, L. S. (2014). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Routledge.
Corr, C. A., Nabe, C. M., & Corr, D. M. (2021). Death and dying, life and living. Cengage Learning.
Creswell, J. W. (2021). A concise introduction to mixed methods research. SAGE Publications.
Elrod, B. G., Rice, K. G., & Meyers, J. (2022). PBIS fidelity, school climate, and student conduct: A longitudinal study of secondary schools. Psychology in the Schools, 59(2), 376–397.
Guy-Evans, O. (2020). Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/Bronfenbrenner.html
Habibulloh, M., Ridho, M. A., & El-Yunusi, M. Y. M. (2024). The transformation of school culture based on spiritual values as an effort to improve student conduct. IJEMR: International Journal of Education Management and Religion, 1(1), 1–12.
Haine, R. A., Ayers, T. S., Sandler, I. N., & Wolchik, S. A. (2008). Evidence-based interventions for parentally bereaved youth. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 37(4), 746–783.
Isaac, N. U. (2024). Behaviour disorders of childhood and adolescence: Implications for education in Nigeria. Bulletin of Islamic Research, 2(4), 573–590.
Kaplow, J. B., Layne, C. M., Pynoos, R. S., Cohen, J., & Lieberman, A. (2014). DSM-5 criteria for persistent complex bereavement disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 53(11), 1135–1143.
Kastenbaum, R. (2020). Death, society, and human experience. Routledge.
Kelly, B., & Symonds, J. (2017). Theories of educational psychology: A critical overview. SAGE Publications.
Kennedy, B., Chen, R., Valdimarsdóttir, U., Montgomery, S., Fang, F., & Fall, K. (2018). Childhood bereavement and lower stress resilience in late adolescence. Journal of Adolescent Health, 63(1), 108–114.
Kentor, R. A., & Kaplow, J. B. (2020). Supporting children and adolescents following parental bereavement: Guidance for health-care professionals. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 4(12), 889–898.
Keyes, K. M., Pratt, C., Galea, S., McLaughlin, K. A., Koenen, K. C., & Shear, M. K. (2014). The burden of loss: Unexpected death of a loved one and psychiatric disorders across the life course in a national study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 171(8), 864–871.
Khamala, J. W., Amunga, J., & Ashioya, I. (2025). Influence of guidance and counseling on conduct disorder in public secondary schools in Bungoma South. Open Access Library Journal, 12(1), 1–18.
Kisisiwe, B. G., Bago, F. A., & Makundi, C. (2024). Management of student's conduct in a globalization world: A case of public secondary schools in Temeke municipality.
Kübler-Ross, E. (1969). On death and dying. Scribner.
Kusumawardana, A. S. (2018). Differences of conduct level between students from state and private junior high school in Malang City. In University of Muhammadiyah Malang's 1st International Conference of Mathematics Education (INCOMED 2017) (pp. 280–283). Atlantis Press.
Limo, R., & Kibowen, L. (2017). The impact of grief on conduct disorder in public secondary schools in Kenya. International Journal of Education and Research, 5(6), 123–134.
Lytje, M., & Dyregrov, A. (2019). The price of loss – A literature review of the psychosocial and health consequences of childhood bereavement. Bereavement Care, 38(1), 13–22.
Mbiti, J. S. (1991). Introduction to African religion (2nd ed.). Heinemann.
McLeroy, K. R., Bibeau, D., Steckler, A., & Glanz, K. (1988). An ecological perspective on health promotion programs. Health Education Quarterly, 15(4), 351–377.
Mugenda, O. M., & Mugenda, A. G. (2003). Research methods: Quantitative and qualitative approaches. Acts Press.
Muli, W. S. (2024). Influence of principals' conduct management strategies on psychological well-being of orphaned students in public secondary schools in Makueni County, Kenya (Doctoral dissertation).
Mwangi, J. (2024). Reconstructing hope and resilience among Kenyan adolescent immigrants.
Neal, J. W., & Neal, Z. P. (2013). Nested or networked? Future directions for ecological systems theory. Social Development, 22(4), 722–737.
Ngesa, F., Oteyo, J., & Mugasia, M. (2020). Unresolved grief and its effects on student behavior in Kenyan secondary schools. Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Science, 8(2), 45–58.
Nwoye, A. (2005). Memory healing processes and community intervention in grief work in Africa. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 26(3), 147–154.
Nyaga, B. G. (2020). Boy child experiences and their psychological wellbeing in Embakasi Central Constituency, Nairobi City County, Kenya (Doctoral dissertation, The Catholic University of Eastern Africa).
Obadire, O. T., & Sinthumule, D. A. (2021). Learner conduct in the post-corporal punishment era: What an experience! South African Journal of Education, 41(2).
Okumu, M. A. (2022). An investigation of factors influencing indiscipline among students in public day secondary schools in Makadara District, Nairobi County, Kenya. Kenyatta University Institutional Repository. https://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/10932
Omucheni, P. N., Mwenje, M., & Kamunyu, R. (2024). Antisocial behaviours that are more prevalent among children with complicated grief in selected public primary schools in Nairobi County, Kenya. Journal of Sociology, Psychology and Religious, 4(5), 18–32.
Priya, A. (2021). Case study methodology of qualitative research: Key attributes and navigating the conundrums in its application. Sociological Bulletin, 70(1), 94–110.
Revet, A., Bui, E., Benvegnu, G., Suc, A., Mesquida, L., & Raynaud, J. P. (2020). Bereavement and reactions of grief among children and adolescents: Present data and perspectives. L'Encéphale, 46(5), 356–363.
Riera-Negre, L., Hidalgo-Andrade, P., Rosselló, M. R., & Verger, S. (2024). Exploring support strategies and training needs for teachers in navigating illness, bereavement, and death-related challenges in the classroom: A scoping review. Frontiers in Education, 9, 1328247.
Rosa, E. M., & Tudge, J. (2013). Urie Bronfenbrenner's theory of human development: Its evolution from ecology to bioecology. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 5(4), 243–258.
Roth, J. L., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2016). Evaluating youth development programs: Progress and promise. Applied Developmental Science, 20(3), 188–202.
Shanshan, W., & Loang, O. K. (2024). Academic support, peer pressure, and emotional intelligence: A mixed-methods investigation in Shanghai's higher education landscape. International Journal of Advanced Research in Education and Society, 6(2), 22–34.
Shrestha, N. (2021). Factor analysis as a tool for survey analysis. American Journal of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, 9(1), 4–11.
Silverman, P. R., & Worden, J. W. (2013). Children's reactions in the early months after the death of a parent. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 63(4), 579–587.
Stroebe, M., Schut, H., & Boerner, K. (2008). Continuing bonds in adaptation to bereavement. Death Studies, 32(7), 580–600.
Sullen, B. C. (2024). The effect of high conduct referrals in schools serving at-risk high school students: A narrative study (Doctoral dissertation, National University).
Surbakti, F. B., & Harahap, A. C. P. (2024). The effectiveness of individual counseling services with a reality counseling approach to increase self-acceptance in orphanage children. Scaffolding: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam dan Multikulturalisme, 6(3), 13–31.
Taber, K. S. (2018). The use of Cronbach's alpha when developing and reporting research instruments in science education. Research in Science Education, 48, 1273–1296.
Tudge, J. R., Mokrova, I., Hatfield, B. E., & Karnik, R. B. (2009). Uses and misuses of Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory of human development. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 1(4), 198–210.
Ungar, M. (2011). The social ecology of resilience: Addressing contextual and cultural ambiguity of a nascent construct. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 81(1), 1–17.
Uroko, F. C. (2025). Parent(s) death and its impact on child's academic performance in Nigeria: Faith-based educational support for bereaved students. Nnadiebube Journal of Education in Africa, 10(1).
Üzmez, A., & Kavakli Ulutaş, N. (2024). An inquiry on the psychological well-being of the university students during emergency remote teaching: Application of the EMPATHICS model. Smart Learning Environments, 11(1), 17.
Vis, J. A., & Boynton, H. M. (2024). A spiritually integrated approach to trauma, grief, and loss: Applying a competence framework for helping professionals. Religions, 15(8), 931.
Wango, G., & Gwiyo, L. M. (2023). When death strikes early as often will: How counsellors and schools can support grieving pupils and students. Improving Schools, 26(1), 39–53.
Welsh, R. O. (2024). Administering conduct: An examination of the factors shaping school conduct practices. Education and Urban Society, 56(7), 847–880.
Worden, J. W. (2018). Grief counseling and grief therapy: A handbook for the mental health practitioner. Springer Publishing Company.
Wu, M. J., Zhao, K., & Fils-Aime, F. (2022). Response rates of online surveys in published research: A meta-analysis. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 7, 100206.
Yamane, T. (1967). Statistics: An introductory analysis (2nd ed.). Harper and Row.
