COUNSELLING STRATEGIES FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN NIGERIA
Abstract
This study investigated the counselling strategies for suicide prevention among undergraduate students in Nigeria. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The study employed descriptive survey research design. The population of the study consisted of all the school based counsellors in Universities and mental health practitioners in south-eastern Nigeria. The sample size for the study comprised one hundred and fifty-five (155) Universities based counsellors and thirty-six (36) mental health practitioners. A self-developed instrument titled questionnaire on counselling strategies for suicide prevention among undergraduate students was used for data collection. Data collected for research questions and hypotheses were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t-test statistics. From the findings of the study, there is no significant difference in the mean ratings of school counsellors (SC) and mental health professionals (MHP) as regards to the factors that contribute to suicidal behaviour among undergraduate students in Nigeria. Also the second Null hypothesis of no significant difference in the mean ratings of school counsellors (SC) and mental health professionals (MHP) as regards to school based preventive strategies of suicide prevention among undergraduate students of Nigeria was upheld. The third Null hypothesis of no significant difference in the mean ratings of school counsellors and mental health professionals as regards to the counselling strategies for suicide prevention among undergraduate students in Nigeria was upheld. The researcher recommended among others that the counsellors working in the Universities settings should educate adolescents as well as stakeholders responsible for the care of the adolescents about suicide in the hope of prevention. They should also make available, support systems such as counselling services and peer support groups to act as valuable resources for adolescents who do not have adaptive coping skills to deal with suicidal behaviour.
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