Rational emotive psychotherapy and basic information in stress management for menopausal women in three local government areas of Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the relative effectiveness of Rational Emotive Psychotherapy and basic information on Physiological Knowledge in the reduction of menopausal stress in women selected in three Local Government area of Oyo State. A 3x2 factorial matrix using the pretest, posttest control quasi-experimental design was adopted. The sample consisted of 48 non-randomised participants who have reached menopause. Out of this number, 45(93.8%) presently leave with their spouses while 3(6.3%) are in widowhood. The participants age range is between 48 and 61 and had a Mean age of 54.8 (SD= 2.4).The Menopause Symptom Survey (MSS) was the research measure used to elicit participants` response. The MSS was constructed to reflect the5-points Likert scale. Two research hypotheses were tested at the margin error of 0.05 alpha with the use of ANCOVA and the Student- t statistical methods. The findings showed that the participants exposed to the three experimental conditions showed reduction in their level of stress with F(5,42)=5.25,p<0.05.It further indicated that the participants with the RET(Mean-Score=48.83)exhibited better reduction in stress than those treated to the Information on Physiological Knowledge((IPK) and the Control group who had Mean-Scores(38.4and29.7) respectively. RET group-comparison with those of IPK was significant (t=21.83;P<0.05;df=30) just as IPK compared to the Control Group(t=14.65;p<0.05;df=27) was. RET with Control Group also had (t=17.9; p<0.05; df=15). The implication is that while the RET was more effective in combating stress in menopausal women, the combination of both the RET and the IPK are robust for emotional stability of women under- going menopause.

African Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology and Sport Facilitation Vol. 6 2004: 14-21