Effects Of Counselling On Students’ Attitude Towards Hiv/Aids Infection
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Effects Of Counselling On Students’ Attitude Towards Hiv/Aids Infection
ABSTRACT
This study intended to investigate the effects of counselling on students’ attitudes towards HIV/AIDS infection in the Surulere local government region of Lagos State.
The survey design method was used to assess the respondents’ perspectives, with a questionnaire developed by the researcher.
This study’s sample size was one hundred twenty students chosen at random using the stratified random sampling method.
The null hypotheses developed for this study were analysed using the independent t-test at a significance threshold of 0.05.
At the conclusion of the analyses, the following results were obtained:
1. Counselling has a considerable effect on students’ attitudes concerning HIV/AIDS infection.
2. There is a substantial link between counselling and students’ attitudes towards HIV/AIDS infection.
3. Male and female students have significantly different attitudes about HIV/AIDS infection.
4. There is no substantial difference between students’ negative and positive attitudes towards HIV/AIDS infection.
The findings served as the basis for recommendations.
Chapter one
1.1 Introduction/Background for the Study
AIDS is an acronym for Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome, a deadly disease that gradually damages organs of the body, particularly the immunological and central neurological systems. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO, 1980), the disease is caused by a virus known as the human immunodeficiency virus type I.
The earliest symptoms of HIV-I infection are often similar to influenza or nomonucleosis and occur within a few days or weeks of contact. These symptoms usually disappear within a few weeks.
A prolonged disease period can extend ten years or more after first infection, however it is more likely to wait eight to ten years before major disease signs appear. In this later stage, the HIV-infected or (HIV positive) patient is said to have AIDS.
According to Aiken (1991), AIDS was discovered in 1981 by researchers in New York and California. Initially, the majority of AIDS cases in the United States were identified in homosexuals who had come into contact with the virus mostly through sexual interactions, intravenous drug use, or the sharing of contaminated needles.
HIV/AIDS reached endemic proportions in the 1980s, mainly in Africa, where the disease may have originated. Several causes, including increased urbanisation and long-distance travel in Africa, as well as changing sexual partners and intravenous drug users, are likely to have aided the spread.
According to the United Nations (2004) report on AIDS, over 38 million people are living with HIV, around 5 million people are injected annually, and approximately 3 million people die from AIDS each year.
According to Humphrey (1990), people living in Sub-Saharan Africa account for approximately 70% of the total prevalence of HIV infection among inhabitants, which exceeds 10% of the population.
Infection rates were lower in other regions of the world, but the epidemic quickly expanded to Eastern Europe, India, South Africa, South East Asia, Latin America, and other Caribbean islands.
Infection rates were also rising in the United States and Western Europe, where the known factors contributing to HIV/AIDS transmission were prominent. In the United States, almost one million people were living with HIV. In Asia, China, Indonesia, and Vietnam experienced the greatest growth in HIV infection.
Experts in counselling and guiding distribute the information listed above to students. According to Adeleke (1990), counselling has long been utilised in schools to disseminate important information about the transmission and treatment of HIV/AIDS. In many schools nowadays, students have embraced counselling as a means of advice and prevention for sexually related concerns.
With the implementation of counselling in schools, students from all socioeconomic backgrounds are now well aware of the causes and consequences of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Because of the establishment of enlightenment on vital concerns, students no longer have negative views towards counselling; rather, they welcome it knowing that the school employs it as a tool of support and solution to specific problems.
For example, many students now understand the hazards of HIV/AIDS as a result of counselling. It has caused people to be more cautious and mindful of their sexual practices, keeping in mind that HIV/AIDS can be transmitted through intercourse.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Sexual desire is inherent in all humans. This is because people are sexual creatures from birth to death, and sexual growth and behaviour are fundamental human processes.
Sexually transmitted diseases, such as Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), have resisted medical science’s ability to treat them. The disease’s proliferation throughout society is cause for concern.
Unfortunately, some who have been counselled by specialists in therapy have not followed the advice given to them on how to begin a safe sexual relationship. This is because many people today, particularly students, have not modified their sex lives. Despite receiving knowledge on the hazards of transmitting HIV/AIDS, the majority of students continue to believe that fear drives them to avoid sex.
Others think that regardless of whether they receive counselling or not, they should engage in active sexual behaviour, which is where the problem of continuous HIV/AIDS transmission among students resides.
Many people have a negative attitude towards the use of counselling as a kind of support for social, psychological, and health issues. People who have been infected with HIV/AIDS suffer from inhibition, dread, and a negative mental orientation, which exacerbates their conditions and eventually leads to death.
Many people’s negative attitudes towards sex education and marriage counsel are the primary causes of HIV/AIDS’ widespread prevalence in society.
This study thus explores the effect of counselling on students’ attitudes about HIV/AIDS, with the goal of changing students’ attitudes and behaviour through the proper counselling advised in this study.
1.3 Goal of the Study
The goal of this study is to look at how counselling affects students’ attitudes regarding HIV/AIDS infection in selected secondary schools in the Surulere local government area of Lagos State. The study will also look into how therapy can be utilised to influence positive behaviour change in adolescent students around sex issues.
1.4 Research Questions.
This study addressed the following research questions:
1. Will counselling have a major effect on students’ attitudes towards HIV/AIDS?
2. To what extent will students’ exposure to counselling services influence their attitudes regarding HIV/AIDS?
3. Will there be gender differences in students’ attitudes regarding HIV/AIDS?
4. Is there a difference in the attitudes of pupils who receive therapy versus those who do not?
5. How can we distinguish between pupils with positive and negative attitudes regarding HIV/AIDS infection?
1.5 Research Hypotheses.
The following hypotheses were developed to steer the course of this study:
1. Counselling had no substantial effect on students’ attitudes concerning HIV/IDS infection.
2. There are no substantial gender differences in students’ attitudes concerning HIV/AIDS infection.
3. There is no substantial difference in pupils’ awareness of the transmission and implications of HIV/AIDS between those with a positive and negative attitude towards the disease.
4. There is no substantial link between counselling services and students’ attitudes regarding HIV/AIDS infection.
1.6 Significance of the Study
This study will be of great benefit to the following:
1. Students: This study’s findings and recommendations will provide students with insight into the problem of HIV/AIDS knowledge and how to avoid its spread.
2. Parents: Parents will benefit from this study since it will assist their children/wards at school in taking advantage of the opportunity to be informed of the spread of the deadly.
Counselling can help you avoid contracting acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). That is, this study will help parents comprehend the necessity of counselling.
3. Teachers: This study will benefit teachers by providing them with the opportunity to apply counselling methods to assist students. With this study, teachers would appreciate the use of counselling instruction as a solution to the spread of HIV/AIDS.
4. School Counsellors: The recommendations of this study will help them gain a better understanding of how to use counselling to help students overcome their sexual problems.
1.7 Scope of the Study
The study will look at how counselling affects pupils’ views towards HIV/AIDS infection in the Surulere local government region of Lagos State.
1.8 Definition of Terms
This study used operational definitions of terminology as follows:
1. HIV: This is a phrase that stands for Human Immunodeficiency.
2. AIDS: This stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
3. School Counsellors: School counsellors are counselling professionals who work in schools to provide counselling and assistance to students and others (Amanze, 1990).
4. Technique: According to the Advanced Learners Dictionary, this refers to technical or mechanical proficiency in art, a method of doing something expertly, a method of artistic expression in music, painting, and so on.
5. Attitude: This refers to how the body is placed or held, as well as how the person feels, thinks, or behaves.
6. Gender: This refers to the grammatical classification of words (norms) and pronouns into classes (masculine, genuine, and neutral).
7. Infection: Infecting or becoming infected; contacting a disease, particularly by the atmosphere or water, contagious disease, or influence that infects.
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