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THE ROLE OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING IN OBVIATING SUICIDE IN NIGERIA TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders, including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse—including alcoholism and the use of benzodiazepines—are risk factors. Some suicides are impulsive acts due to stress, such as from financial difficulties, troubles with relationships, or bullying. Those who have previously attempted suicide are at a higher risk for future attempts. Close to 800 000 people die due to suicide every year, which is one person every 40 seconds. Suicide is a global phenomenon and occurs throughout the lifespan. Effective and evidence-based interventions can be implemented at population, sub-population and individual levels to prevent suicide and suicide attempts. There are indications that for each adult who died by suicide there may have been more than 20 others attempting suicide. Suicide occurs throughout the lifespan and is the second leading cause of death among 15-29 year old globally.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), while the link between suicide and mental disorders (in particular, depression and alcohol use disorders) is well established in high-income countries, many suicides happen impulsively in moments of crisis with a breakdown in the ability to deal with life stresses, such as financial problems, relationship break-up or chronic pain and illness. In addition, experiencing conflict, disaster, violence, abuse, or loss and a sense of isolation are strongly associated with suicidal behaviour. Suicide rates are also high amongst vulnerable groups who experience discrimination, such as refugees and migrants; indigenous peoples; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex (LGBTI) persons; and prisoners. By far the strongest risk factor for suicide is a previous suicide attempt. It is estimated that around 20 per cent of global suicides are due to pesticide self-poisoning, most of which occur in rural agricultural areas in low- and middle-income countries. Other common methods of suicide are hanging and firearms. However, In any learning institution, counselors form an essential part of the organization since they serve as key persons to whom students can turn to for help on matters related to general challenges facing a teenager both in school and out of school. With the too academic oriented education system characterized with exam cheating and results irregularities, students are likely to find themselves faced with difficult decisions to make concerning career choices. Pressure from parents, lack of proper guidance and scarcity of jobs in preferred sectors can be quite overwhelming for a child unless guided appropriately. Apart from career choice, the students are also faced with other adolescent challenges such as relationships, rapid growth and physical changes, peer pressure, addiction to drugs and alcohol, and the need for identity or to “belong”. therefore, the guidance and counselling role can be useful in ameliorating the increase of suicide in our tertiary institutions.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The year 2019 has recorded a significant number of death through suicidal actions. The trend is one that cannot be quickly disputed as it is ongoing. The demeaning aspect of suicide attempt in the contemporary Nigeria is that it is carried out by students. The student's are supposed to be the least affected by suicide but reverse is the case. In the tertiary institutions, the rate of suicide actions is on the increase as records show that nothing has been done to curb this action. Suicide is associated with a lot of negativity as it traditionally depicts a bad omen and signifies weakness on the part of the victim. The continuous increase of suicide by young people has propelled this study to be considered as it examines the role of guidance and counseling in curbing suicide.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

The major objectives of this study is to investigate the roles of guidance and counselling in obviating suicide among tertiary institution students in Nigeria.

1.    Are tertiary institution guidance counselors aware of students suicidal behaviors?

2.    What are the school guidance counselors’ perceptions of students suicidal behaviour?

3.    Do school guidance counselors understand suicide among the student’s population?

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This study attempted to answer the following research questions:

1.    Are tertiary institution guidance counselors aware of student’s suicidal behaviors?

2.    What are the school guidance counselors perceptions of students suicidal behaviour?

3.    Do school guidance counselors understand suicide among the student’s population?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Nigeria has witnessed an unusual phenomenon among young people especially young people in the tertiary institutions. This study is quite significant as it exposes in factual terms the causes of suicide among young people. The study will also assist guidance and counseling department in understanding what needs to be tackled as it provides insight the need to obviate suicide. The reverse is that this study brings to bare the role of guidance and counseling in obviating suicide, which implies that guidance and counseling can be relied upon to provide assistance to suicidal issues.

1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This study examines the current appalling trend of suicide in Nigeria, especially in the tertiary institutions. However the study is limited to only Nigeria institutions. The study sampled opinions from respondents across four states (Enugu, Lagos, Jos and Delta states).

1.7 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research is organized into five distinct but related chapters, the first chapter gives an overview of the study as well as highlighting the problem and clearly the objectives. In the second chapter, we reviewed related and relevant literature. In the third chapter, we describe the method adopted and employed in the study. The fourth chapter presents and analyzes the data collected from the respondents, while the fifth chapter includes, summary, conclusion and recommendations.

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