BARRIERS TO MENTAL HEALTH HELP-SEEKING AND PREVENTIVE STRATEGIES OF ANXIETY AMONG STUDENTS OF TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

This study investigated the barriers to mental health help-seeking and preventive strategies of anxiety severity among students of tertiary institutions in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nigeria. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The correlational research design was adopted for the study. The population for the study comprised 12,578 students of tertiary institutions. The multistage sampling procedure was used to draw a sample of 408 students from tertiary institutions. The Mental Health Problems Questionnaire (MHPQ) and Mental Health Problem Preventive Strategies Questionnaire (MHPPSQ) were used for the study. Five experts in Public Health Education validated the MHPQ. The MHPPSQ contained 13 items formulated based on the study’s baseline findings. The formulated preventive strategies for mental health problems among students were validated by 10 experts in public health education. The research questions were answered using mean, standard deviation, and point-biserial correlation. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level. The results showed there that fear of self-discovery (beta = 1.365, P < .001), fear of stigma (beta = 1.270, P < .001) and fear of therapy (beta = .173, P < 0.05) were significant predictors of level of higher anxiety severity among students. Public health education experts considered the formulated preventive strategies for mental health problems among students of tertiary institutions appropriate. In conclusion, students had mild levels of anxiety. The authors recommended the conduct and implementation of health screening programmes to identify students at risk of anxiety severity by psychologists and mental health professionals.