Efficacy of Religious-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Reduction of Ambiva-lent Behaviors Among Christian Youth Attending Selected Churches in Kajiado County, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy Religious-based Cognitive Be-havioral Therapy on ambivalent behaviors among Christian youth in selected Churches in Kajiado County, Kenya. The participants were youth (14-35 years) attending four selected Deliverance Churches, in Kajiado County Kenya. The research design was both descriptive and quasi experimental. A sample size of 145(males=73,50.3% and females =72, 49.7%) was recruited for the baseline assessments and for the interven-tion phase, there were 55 respondents (34 in the experimental and 21 in the control group). The data collection tools were a researcher-generated socio-demographic questionnaire, Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith- (SRSCORF), Religious Cop-ing questionnaire- (RCOPE), ASSIST- Lite questionnaire and the Compulsive Sexual Behavior Inventory-13 (CSBI-13). Ambivalent behaviors in this study constituted compulsive sexual behaviors (CSB) and substance use. The prevalence of CSB was 26.2% (n=38) while the prevalence of those who were currently using substances was 38.6% (n=56) where 42 (28.9%) were using alcohol and among them 8.3% were at high risk level for alcohol use. The most affected age group in CSB was the 20-24-year-old who were in college/university emanating from both-parent home back-grounds. RCBT was not efficacious in the reduction of number of substances that were being consumed and neither was it efficacious in the reduction of CSB. The Kendall’s tau correlation coefficient showed a positive statistically significant rela-tionship between CSB and negative religious coping (τb=.223, 95% C.I .117-.324, p=.008) showing that increased use of negative coping mechanism was related to in-creased CSB. Overall, the study was informative in that, it revealed ambivalence among Christian youth and the need for targeted psychological and behavioral inter-ventions, alongside the church-based programs.