PREVALENCE AND CAUSES OF SUICIDE AND SUICIDAL BEHAVIOURS AMONG UNDERGRADUATES OF UNIVERSITIES IN EDO STATE

Abstract

The study investigated the prevalence and causes of suicide and suicidal behaviours
among university students in Edo State. Four (4) research questions guided the study.
The descriptive research design was employed in the study. The population of the study
was made up of all the 79,813 full-time undergraduates in public and privately owned
universities in Edo State. The sample size was 720 drawn using the multi-stage sampling
procedure. Two research instruments were used to obtain data used for the study. The
first was a structured questionnaire designed by the researcher titled: Questionnaire
(SBQ), and Checklist (DESSAC). The questionnaire and interview schedule items were
validated by three experts from Faculty of Education, University of Benin. The reliability
of the instrument was established through Cronbach’s Alpha statistics. Thus, Cronbach’s
Alpha values of .81, .72, and .81 were respectively obtained as the reliability values of the
instrument. The findings revealed among others that substance abuse was the most
prevalent suicidal behaviour among university students; Poor relationship with family
members was seen as a very high cause of suicidal behaviour among university students
in Edo State, and there was a low level of prevalence of suicide among university students
in Edo State. It was concluded that suicide and suicidal behaviours among university
students in Edo State is predicated on poor relationship with family members. It was
therefore recommended among others that parent should be more responsible, bearing
in mind that parenting goes beyond providing food, money, shelter, clothing and other
needed school materials as such parents should show more cares and apt attention to
their children.

Keyword: Prevalence, Suicide, Suicidal Behaviours, University Students