ABSTRACT
The study focused on depression and suicidal ideation amongst student nurses in Enugu (School of nursing UNTH and ESUTH). Four research questions and null hypotheses guided the study. Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (SIQ) was used to collect data. This study utilized a survey research design. A survey research design is one in which a group of people or items are studied by collecting and analyzing the data from a selected people or items considered to be representative of the entire group. Means were used to answer the eleven research questions, while t-test and ANOVA statistics were utilized to test the five postulated null hypothesis at .05 level of significance. Results revealed that the extent of suicidal ideation existing among student nurses was very low regarding all the dimensions of suicidal ideation. The results further showed that there were no difference in the suicidal ideation among the students according to variable of age, gender, location, religious affiliation, there was very low correlation between life and situations and the various demographic factors; there was very low correlation between suicidal ideation and students demographic variations. There was no significant difference in the suicidal ideation of students according to gender and location, while there was significant difference in some dimensions of suicidal ideation according to age, class and religious affiliations, while in some dimensions there was no difference. Among the recommendations was the government school and home should create environmental friendly climate for students.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Every society is dynamic and has its peculiar problems. However, when these problems, overwhelm the young ones who have no coping ability, they may start thinking of risky behaviour of suicide or attempt suicide. Suicide among teens and young adults is a complex and distressing problem (Tellioglu, 2006). To contemplate suicide at any age is awful. When it involves a teenager who has a life full of potentials ahead of him, it is almost too awful (Behning, 2006).
In recent years the rate of suicide among student nurses has risen to alarming proportions (Goldman, 1988). Worldwide, suicide is among the top five causes of mortality in the 15 to 19 years age group in many countries, suicide ranks first as a cause of death among both boys and girls in this age group (World Health Organization (WHO), 2000). In persons between the ages of 15-34years, it is the third leading cause of death (Vijayokumar, Nagaraji, & John, 2004). However, incidence and pattern of suicide varies from country to country depending on social, cultural, and religious values (Saeed, Bashir, Khan, Igbal, Rajo, & Rehman, 2002). It is considered a sin or immoral act in many religions and a crime to help someone commit suicide in some countries. On the other hand, some culture have view it as an honorable way to exit certain shameful or hopelessness situations (Columbia University Press, 2003).
Suicide is the act of taking one‟s life voluntarily and intentionally (Saeed, Bashir, Khan, Igbal, Rajo, and Rehman, 2002). Suicide is a self-execution, an act in which one deliberately and intentionally kills himself, is gradually seen as extreme and complex behaviour, involving all aspects of human experience, the biological, psychological, social, and environmental aspect of life (Moscicki, 1994). It is the act of deliberately taking one‟s life. Suicidal behaviour is any action with potentially life threatening consequences, such as taking a drug overdose (Taylor, 2003).
