Title: Personal-Social predictors of suicide ideation among emerging adults in a selected University in Rivers State, Nigeria
Authors: Amadi, Cajetan N. PhD and Mpumechi, Mary
Volume: 8
Issue: 8
Pages: 115-122
Publication Date: 2024/08/28
Abstract:
This study explored the personal-social predictors of suicide ideation among undergraduate students of the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt. The study was guided by three research questions and three hypotheses. The correlational research design was adopted for the study and the population comprised all undergraduate students of the Rivers State University during the 2020/2021 academic session. A sample size of 598 students was drawn for the study using multi stage sampling technique. The instrument used in collecting data for the study was a questionnaire designed by the researcher titled "Personal-Social predictors of suicide ideation Questionnaire (P-SPSIQ) patterned after the 4-point Likert scale of SA= Strongly Agreed, A= Agreed, D= Disagreed, SD= Strongly Disagreed. It has two sections (A & B). Section A elicited information on the respondents' demographic profile, while section B is further divided into three sub scales (I - III) containing items that measure Persimism, Family conflict and Substance Abuse respectively. The reliability of the instrument was determined using crobach Alpha method and the result is as follows: Pessimism (0.77), Family conflict (0.84) and substance abuse 0.83. Data generated from the instrument were analyzed using simple regression to answer research questions and their corresponding hypotheses. Findings revealed that pessimism is a significant predictor of suicide ideation among students. Also, family conflict significantly predicts suicide ideation among students. Again, substance abuse is significant predictor of suicide ideation among students. Based on the findings, recommendations were made, among which was that students should be counselled on positive self-esteem and self-concept as well as guiding them on rational emotive thought to imbibe optimism as part of their personality.