Student counselors' perceived causes of divorce among couples in Lagos

¶ … divorce in Lagos, Nigeria, and what role counselors can play. The authors assume "negative consequences" of divorce, without considering the potential positive impact divorce can have on the empowerment of women or the necessary demise of global patriarchy. An increased rate of divorce, especially among females attending university, can easily be attributed to the unwillingness of educated and empowered women to conform to outmoded gender roles and norms or succumb to abusive relationships. Student counselors and public service counselors need to be aware of the multiple dynamics of divorce, especially as it plays out in Nigerian society.

This was an experimental research design, with an exploratory mode. The researchers want to find out student counselors' perceptions of the causes of divorce in Lagos. It is presumed that the perceptions of causes for divorce will have a corresponding impact on treatment, which provides a motive for conducting the research. The researchers examine three separate issues: gender, marital status, and age and how those three variables impact perceptions of divorce. Their hypothesis is that these three variables will have a bearing on perceptions of marriage and divorce. The population sample was randomly selected, and consisted of one hundred and five student counselors in the "sandwich programme" at Lagos State University. The survey instrument used was self-designed, and called the Student Counsellors' Perceived Causes of Divorce Questionnaire (SCPCDQ).

2. What are the findings?

The findings show that there was no significant difference among student counselors' perceived cause of divorce based on counselor age, gender, and marital status. These findings are significant because they show that there can be a more universal approach toward helping counselors to understand what treatments and approaches to use with couples in need. If there are no significant differences in student counselor perceptions of marriage, then student counselors can be trained in pre-marital and marital therapies without reference to the counselor demographic. The goals of the treatment remain the same.

3. How can it be applied to marriage and couple counseling?