Suicidal Ideation Among University Freshers in Owerri, Imo State Nigeria: Prevailing Role of Learning Anxiety, Depression and Academic Failure

This study investigated suicidal ideation among university freshers in Owerri, Imo State Nigeria: Prevailing role of learning anxiety, depression and academic failure. This study adopted descriptive survey research design of ex-post facto-type. The population comprised of 96 fresh undergraduates (49 male 51.04% and 47 female 48.96%) in 100 level transiting to 200 level who expressed suicidal thoughts and sought counselling intervention service from the university counselling service center. Three research questions were answered and three hypotheses tested. Four standardized instruments were used for data collection and analysed using Percentage, Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Multiple Regression Analysis at 0.05 level of significance. Result shows that significant negative predictive relationship exists between expressed suicidal ideation among university freshers in Owerri, Imo State Nigeria and their learning anxiety (R=0. -043, p<0.05), depression (R=0. -051, p<0.05), and academic failure (R=0. -055, p<0.05). Academic failure made the highest relative contribution on expressed suicidal ideation among university freshers in Owerri, Imo State Nigeria (β= -0.117) followed by depression (β= -0.051) and learning anxiety (β= -0.043).  Also, the prevalence rate of expressed suicidal ideation among male and female university freshers in Owerri, Imo State Nigeria is 50.57% for male and 49.43% for female. It was recommended that Students should be given adequate orientation of the benefit of utilizing counselling services as a means for them to overcome their learning anxiety, depressive experience and academic failure in the course of their scholarship.