Gender and Psychological Factors Associated with Suicidal Ideation among University Students in Enugu Metropolis

Abstract

This study investigated gender and psychosocial factors associated with suicidal ideation among undergraduate students in Enugu metropolis. 666 participants comprising 419 males and 247 were sampled using purposive sampling technique, from universities within Enugu Metropolis. Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSSI); Index of self-esteem, Self-efficacy Scale and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support were used for data collection. Cross – sectional survey design was adopted and descriptive and multiple regression analysis were employed as statistics. The results revealed that there are differences between males and females in the manifestation of suicidal ideation with females (M= 47.53) and males (M=31.53). Also, gender, self-esteem, self-efficacy and social support all correlated remarkably with suicidal ideation among undergraduates (r = .35, p = .02), (r = .32, p = .32), (r = .26, p = .32) and (r = .54, p = .03), respectively. More so, gender and the psychosocial factors jointly associated with suicidal ideation F(4, 662) = 2.004, p = .02  and individually, gender, self-esteem and social support independently, have positive association with suicidal ideation of a β value of .00, .12 and .52, respectively which are statistically significant since the P-values < .05. Whereas, self-efficacy has no association with suicidal ideation of a β value of .04, which is statistically not significant since the P-value >.05. It was concluded that gender, female students are higher in manifesting suicidal ideation than male students. Also, self-esteem, self-efficacy and social support are associated with suicidal ideation among undergraduate students.