Understanding the Relationship between Depression and Suicidal Tendencies Among Tertiary Students in Ghana

Objectives

Global evidence estimates indicate suicide to be the second leading cause of intentional deaths among tertiary students and the possible relationship between suicidal behavior and the mental health status of victims. Therefore this study aims to examine the relationship between depression and suicidal tendencies and identify the factors influencing this behavior among tertiary students in Ghana.

Methods

A cross-sectional design was employed to collect data from 824 tertiary students in a public university in Ghana over 90 days using the Center of Epidemiology Scale of Depression (CESD-R) and the suicidal behavior questionnaire-revised (SBQ-R) to estimate depression and suicidal behavior prevalence among the students. Pearson correlation and multivariate logistics regression was employed to describe and predict the relationship between depression and the outcome and the factors influencing …