Content Analysis of the Barriers to Mental Health Help-seeking among University Students in Nigeria

Despite recent advancements in the management and treatment of mental disorders, untreated mental health problems persist on a large scale among university students especially in developing countries. In order to increase treatment rates and improve mental health in general, it is necessary to address the barriers which deter students from seeking help for their mental health problems. This study set out to understand the array of factors that inhibit mental health help-seeking among university students in Nigeria. A total of 16 mentally distressed students including 12 males and 4 females, with the average age of 27.87 years and GHQ-12 scores ranging from 16 to 36 took part in face-to-face interviews at a public university in north central Nigeria. Interview questions assessed their current state of mental health, intentions to seek help, and perceived barriers to help-seeking on campus. The results revealed that although all the participants self-identified as moderately or severely distressed, fewer than 13% had sought professional help for their mental health problems. Furthermore, qualitative content analysis of the interview transcripts identified three major barriers to help-seeking: “individual characteristics” ,“confidentiality issues”, and “institutional deficiencies”. These findings were interpreted in accordance with the ecological systems theory and implications for mental health intervention at the personal, social and institutional levels were proposed.