Benue State University, Makurdi

PERCEIVED SOCIAL SUPPORT AND SUICIDE IDEATION AMONG GRADUATE STUDENTS IN A NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY SETTING

Alex Igundunasse, Olivia Opara

Abstract

This research is focused on investigating the relationship and the impact perceived social support has on suicide ideation among postgraduate students in University of Lagos. Other predisposing factors were also considered such as Gender, age, demographic characteristics in order to examine how each factor influences suicidal ideation independently. 376 respondents were selected using convenience sampling and an online questionnaire based on the Multidimensional scale of perceived social support and the Suicidal ideation scale was administered to measure perceived social support and suicidal ideation respectively. Data gathered was analyzed using t-test for independent samples to evaluate the influence of social support on suicidal ideation and it showed that graduate students who reported low perceived social support scored significantly higher on suicidal ideation than post graduate students who reported high perceived social support thus confirming that perceived social support has an influence on suicidal ideation. Furthermore, on SPSS, multiple regression analysis was used to evaluate the influence of other predisposing factors such as age, marital status, employment Status and religion and the results proved that they jointly predicted suicidal ideation among graduate students in University of Lagos, thus implying that demographic variables jointly accounted for 57.8% variance in suicidal ideation among post graduate students. This study provides insights on the need for rehabilitation and intervention strategies in schools, churches, and workplace in order to provide proper support system while enlightening the public on empathy and being mentally aware thereby reducing suicidal ideation occurrences.

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