SEXUAL ASSAULTS AND THE PSYCHOSOCIAL MALADJUSTMENT OF ADOLESCENTS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN CAMEROON

Abstract

Sexual assault is a vice that is alarming in secondary schools in Cameroon. It’s a severe crime and call for concern especially in schools due to vulnerability of students. Nowadays, the rate at which adolescent students are involved in sexual assaults is alarming. They engage in physical, sexual and relational victimisation which may have adverse psychosocial effects on the victims. Though they are diverse forms of victimisation among adolescents such as obvert victimisation, relational, property crime and power imbalance, this paper focuses on how sexual assaults (sexual violence, groping, rape, forced virginal or oral penetration,) leads to psychosocial maladjustment among adolescents in secondary schools in Cameroon. Mixed method was used in collecting data. Purposive and stratified sampling techniques were used to select a sample which comprised of adolescent students (577), counsellors (12) and discipline masters (12) from some schools in the North West, South West, Centre, and Adamawa Region (613). The instruments used for data collection were a closed-ended questionnaire for students, a focus group discussion with students, and an interview for counsellors and discipline masters/mistresses. Data obtained were analyzed descriptively and inferentially using cross-tabulations, percentages, and multiple response sets. Findings showed that sexual assaults significantly predict psychosocial maladjustment (P < 0.001). The positive sign of the correlation (R= 0.641**) implied that adolescents are more likely to suffer from psychosocial maladjustments. When there was a persistent occurrence of relational victimisation in the school environment. The findings implies that when there is persistent sexual violence, groping, rape, forced virginal or oral penetration from social groups, the victim turn to suffer from psychosocial maladjustment. In order to reduce the adverse effects of sexual victimisation and promote positive psychosocial maladjustments among adolescent the various stakeholders especially parents, teachers, school administrators, and counsellors should play unique roles in organising forums to advice and counsel the students peer victimisation.