Suicide Ideation: Age and Correlates Among University Students in Nyanza Region, Kenya

Suicidal behaviors have been on the rise among university students in the recent past. The aim of this paper was to examine suicide ideation in relation to age category and correlates among university students in the Nyanza region with the aim of preventing occurrences of completed suicide. The objectives of the study were to determine the difference in age category in relation to suicide ideation and to examine the correlates of suicide ideation. The study was based on the Three Step Theory of Suicide (3ST) by Klonsky, May and Saffer. The research design employed was a correlational research design. Purposive sampling was used to select four public universities from the Nyanza region as well as university counsellors. Stratified sampling was thereafter used to select undergraduate students depending on their year of study. Simple random sampling was finally used to select 1477 students from the four universities with the guidance of a sample size table developed by Krejcie and Morgan (1970). Student questionnaires, interview schedules as well as counseling records were used to collect data. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS V20). Descriptive statistics, including frequencies and percentages, were used. Quantitative data was thereafter analyzed using chi-square and linear regression at a .05 level of significance, and qualitative data was analyzed using themes. The study findings revealed that suicide ideation was not related to the age category of the students. The results from linear regression analysis indicated that sexual abuse, romantic break up, alcohol addiction, HIV/AIDS, elections and cyber suicide are predictors of suicide ideation, while financial crisis and COVID-19 are not predictors of suicide ideation. The study recommends that the ratio of student to counsellor at the university should be increased to allow for easy access to counselling services. The study also recommends that during orientation, the counselling department should create awareness of some of the stressful life events students are likely to encounter on campus and equip them with coping skills, as well as encourage them to visit the counselling department whenever they feel like talking to someone. Article visualizations: