Severity of Suicide Behaviors among Parasuicidal Adolescents at Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kappa-Lagos, Nigeria

Samuel O. Ojuade, D.Min., Executive Director of PsycheBalmConsult, Nigeria and Ph.D. Candidate in Clinical Psychology; Alice Munene, Psy.D., and Paul Mbutu, Ph.D., Daystar University)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish the severity of suicide behaviors and co-existing mental disorders at Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kappa-Lagos, Nigeria. The sample size of 115 participants was selected at 80% power and 30% effective size using purposive sampling technique. The research used Suicide Behavior Questionnaire (SBQ-R), Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI), and Mood Disorders Questionnaire (MDQ) to collect data. Data obtained from researcher-generated socio-economic demographic questionnaire and standardized psychological assessment tools was analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 and summarized in percentages. The results of the study show that suicide behaviors were more predominantly severe among participants aged 18-21 than participants aged 14-17. The prevalence of suicide behavior was noticed among female, university students, and Christians, especially the Pentecostals. In addition, the severity of suicidal behaviors was high among adolescents whose fathers were employed, whose mothers were jobless, whose family economic status was poor and slightly higher among adolescents whose parents lived together compared to those whose parents lived apart.

Keywords: suicide behaviors, parasuicidal, adolescents and mental health disorders