ACADEMIC STRESS, SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS AND SOCIAL PRESSURE AS PREDICTORS TO SUICIDE IDEATION AMONG UNDERGRADUATES IN UNIVERSITY OF BENIN.

ABSTRACT

          Suicide is a major public health problem globally as it is one of the leading causes of death among adolescents thus the need to address this issue becomes imperative. This study therefore investigated if academic stress, socio-economic status and peer pressure would correlate with suicide ideation among undergraduates in tertiary institutions using University of Benin as a case study. To guide this study, five research questions were raised and four hypotheses were formulated and tested. The study adopted the Correlational Research Design. The population for the study was all University of Benin students in the 2019/2020 session. The sample size comprises of 500 undergraduate students drawn from 10 faculties using the Non-proportionate stratified random sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was the Predictors of Suicide Ideation Questionnaire (PSIQ) which was validated by the researcher’s supervisor and two lecturers in the faculty of education, University of Benin. The reliability co-efficient for the questionnaire was 0.79 using the Pearson moment correlation statistics. The data collected was analyzed using the mean statistics and the linear regression statistics which was tested at alpha level of 0.05.The following were the findings of the study: Firstly, the prevalence level of suicide ideation among students of University of Benin was low; Secondly, academic stress and peer pressure were significant predictors of suicide ideation among University of Benin Students; Finally, the socio-economic status and level of students were not significant predictors of suicide ideation among University of Benin students. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that University authorities should ensure that every students should fill the suicide ideation form at the counseling center at the end of every session.