ABSTRACT
The termination of pregnancies most generally known as “abortion” is a universal phenomenon occurring throughout all levels of societal organization and recorded history. often hundreds of thousands of women become pregnant without wanting to, and some of such women decide to terminate the pregnancy through induced abortion. Today, abortion is one of the most common gynaecological experiences, which the majority of women will perhaps undergo in their lifetimes. Since abortion is illegal in Nigeria (unless medically recommended to save a mother’s life), many abortions are carried out clandestinely, often in an unsafe environment and are therefore classified as unsafe abortion. One of the commonest problem university and other tertiary institutions students are facing is abortion and its complications. Nearly three quarters of pregnancies in university students are reported to have ended with abortion. A significant proportion of these abortions are induced in an unsafe way. In view of this background, this study analyzes the perception of students of Federal Cooperative College, Kaduna towards the practice of abortion. The researcher adopted a survey research design. A total of one hundred and fifty-three (153) respondents comprised the target of the study. Questionnaire and was the instrument used for data collection. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), frequency tables and percentages (%) were employed in the data analysis. It was discovered that there is a high level of awareness of the complications of unsafe abortion amongst undergraduates but the practice of safe sex is low. This could easily translate to unwanted pregnancies, leading to illegal and unsafe abortion. This study concludes that abortion unpopular in their school. There is prevalence sexual intercourse among students in the study area, however, most of them had not being impregnated or impregnated someone. Besides the study shows that most of the respondents agree that abortion is sinful, those who engage in abortion are stigmatized abortion lead to emotional stress, psychological trauma and infertility. Also worrisome is that fact that students use induced abortions to terminate pregnancies regularly for the reasons that unwanted pregnancy would hinder/prevent the completion of school, they are not ready enough to get married, fear of their parents reaction to unplanned pregnancy, unavailability of funds to cater for unplanned baby, not wanting to raise a child alone without a father and also to avoid the stigma associated with carrying an unwanted pregnancy. Furthermore, majority of the respondents said it is not proper to recommend abortion to other students. Therefore, sexual reproductive health interventions like health education and counselling are needed on campus to reduce the practice of risky sexual behaviours in settings where abortion is illegal. Also, the application of knowledge of complications of induced abortion by healthcare providers in clinical settings will help reduce maternal morbidity and mortality.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study - - - - - - - 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem - - - - - - - 3
1.3 Research Questions - - - - - - - - 5
1.4 Objectives of the Study - - - - - - - 5
1.5 Significance of the Study - - - - - - - 6
1.6 Scope of the Study - - - - - - - - 7
1.7 Definition of Terms - - - - - - - - 7
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL
2.1 Introduction - - - - - - - - - 8
2.2 Prevalence of the Practice of Abortion among Students - - - - 8
2. 3. Perception of Students towards Abortion - - - - - - 10
2.4 Factors Which Influence the Practice of Abortion among Students - 14
2.5 Theoretical Framework - - - - - - - 19
2.5.1 The Theory of Knowledge - - - - - - 19
2.5.2 Theory of Reasoned Action - - - - - - 21
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
3.1 Location of the Study - - - - - - - - 23
3.2 Population of Study - - - - - - - - 23
3.3 Sample Size and Sampling Technique- - - - - - 24
3.4 Method of Data Collection - - - - - - - 24
3.5 Methods of Data Analysis - - - - - - - 25
3.8 Problems Encountered in the Field - - - - - 25
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 Introduction - - - - - - - - - 26
4.2 Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Respondents - - - - 26
4.3 The practice of abortion among students - - - - 29
4.4 Perception of students towards abortion - - - - - - 33
4.5 Factors that influence the practice of abortion among students - - - 35
4.6 Discussion of major findings - - - - - - - 39
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Summary of Findings - - - - - - - - 46
5.2 Conclusion - - - - - - - - - 47
5.3 Recommendations - - - - - - - - 48
References - - - - - - - - - 50
Appendices - - - - - - - - - 55
