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THE ROLE OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING IN SUICIDE PREVENTION IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

background of the study

Suicide (Latin: Suicidium). It is the act of intentionally ending one's life. Suicide is a common phenomenon in the western world, but it is becoming a major public health problem, even in Nigeria. He is often engaged in despair. In the United States, about 80 suicides are committed per day, with more than 32,000 suicides per year and 1,500 unsuccessful suicide attempts per day. It is the fourth leading cause of death for people ages 18 to 65 in the United States. Suicide risk factors include, but are not limited to, family history of suicide, access to firearms, romantic breakdown, a history of negligence or abuse, and a history of intentional injury. A person can often manifest certain symptoms or behaviors before suicide occurs, regardless of age or origin, but some groups of people have a higher risk of suicide attempts. Suicides and suicide attempts often occur in people with mental disorders such as schizophrenia, autism, bipolar disorder, depression and drug and alcohol abuse. Stressful life problems, such as financial difficulties or relationship problems, also play an important role in suicidal behavior. Suicide attempts are often motivated by the search for relief from guilt, shame, rejection, loneliness or loss. Suicide offers some people a way to escape misery in certain circumstances where life becomes unbearable. Some inmates of the infamous Nazi camps would have deliberately committed suicide by touching the electrified fences. In India, it was known that some indebted farmers had committed suicide to escape their unbearable debt.

The role of guidance and counselling (G/C) services among youths cannot be overemphasized. G/C services have always played a leading role in terms of child‘s development and improvement. For this reason, G/C services are sine qua non to child‘s development. Okobiah and Okorodudu (2006) highlighted that Guidance and Counselling is encompassed by activities of relevant services and also processes of helping persons within and outside the school, to achieve their full potentialities in their emotional, moral, social, academic and vocational developments. Esen (1998) says that guidance and counselling is aimed primarily at assisting the receiver to discover his own hidden strengths and ultimately grow in independence and ability to take his own decisions, make choices or adjustments unaided. When all the above listed has been resolved, then G/C could effectively be utilized as coping strategy for inculcating the consciousness of peace, conflict resolution and national security among secondary school youths‘ in Anambra State. Thus, the present study tried to examine the relevance of utilizing effective G/C services as coping strategy for inculcating the consciousness of peace, conflict resolution and national security among secondary school youths‘ in Anambra State through effective utilization of guidance and

Statement of the problem

Recent events in Nigerian society regarding different cases of youth suicide have drawn the attention of government agencies, NGOs, international agencies and society in general to the sad truth that young people no longer receive all the information they need. Support they need emotionally. and especially psychologically. Because each individual is unique, there is no single reason for someone to have suicidal thoughts or attempt suicide. Factors that may contribute to having suicidal thoughts are: A major life transition that is very upsetting or disappointing A loss of an important relationship or the death of a loved one Depression, anxiety or other serious emotional troubles Feelings of hopelessness or despair Low self-esteem or shame Failure to live up to one's own or others' expectations  Extreme loneliness. News of a major medical illness Severe physical or emotional pain Alcohol or drug problems Guidance and Counselling amongst youths today can aid in the prevention of suicide cases in Nigeria. It is believed that when we talk to people who are depressed and give them all the adequate support then these cases of suicide that is on the rise will gradually become a thing of the past. It is in the light of this that this study seeks to find out the role of guidance and counseling in suicide prevention in Nigeria.

Purpose of the study

The main purpose of this study was to examine the role of guidance and counseling in Nigeria. The specific objectives are to;

i.  Have a general overview on the role of guidance and counseling.

ii.  Find out if guidance and counseling can help to prevent suicide in Nigeria.

iii.  Identify challenges that deter the effectiveness of guidance and counseling services among youths in Nigeria.

Significance of the study

Suicide is a serious issue that many people prefer not to discuss, but it is something that affects many people at some point in their life. Suicide can be a very difficult thing to understand. If someone you know may be suicidal, it’s important to recognize the signs beforehand so they can get the help and counseling they need. With proper education, everyone can be made more aware of the possible risks for suicide as well as the underlying causes. There are many different reasons someone may want to commit suicide, and in many cases, they can be saved if they get the help they need in time.

1.6   Scope and delimitation of the study

The scope of this study is focused on the role of guidance and counseling in suicide prevention in Nigeria.

The researcher encountered some constraints, which limited the scope of the study. These constraints include but are not limited to the following.

a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study

b) TIME: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

The following terms were used in the course of this study:

Guidance and counseling: Guidance refers to an advice or a relevant piece of information provided by a superior, to resolve a problem or overcome from difficulty. Counseling refers to a professional advice given by a counselor to an individual to help him in overcoming from personal or psychological problems.

Suicide:  the act or an instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally.

Youth: Youth is the time of life when one is young, and often means the time between childhood and adulthood (maturity). It is also defined as "the appearance, freshness, vigor, spirit, etc., characteristic of one who is young.

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows Chapter one is concerned with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding. Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.

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