Early Family Environment and Emerging Adults’ Suicidal Behaviours: A Case of Two Selected Universities in Nairobi County, Kenya.
| dc.contributor.author | Mutwiri, Marion K. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-10-22T11:24:30Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-10-22T11:24:30Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-07-25 | |
| dc.description.abstract | This dissertation examined early family environments and related implications for emerging adults' suicidal behaviours. The principles of attachment theory, life course development and the Satir model guided the study. The study explored the prevalence and early family environments associated with suicidal behaviours among emerging adults aged 18–29 in selected universities. The psychological stressors compelling emerging adults to suicidal behaviours and the role of spirituality were useful constructs of this study. This study adopted a convergent mixed-methods design. Data was collected from two selected universities in Nairobi County. The study population comprised 431 undergraduate students and six university counsellors. Simple random, stratified and snowballing sampling techniques were applied in the sample selection. A pre-test was done on a sample of 30 undergraduate students at a selected university that was excluded from the study. Data was collected after obtaining relevant permits, informed consent and the confidentiality of participants was guarded. The data was concurrently collected using quantitative and qualitative methods. The data was concurrently analyzed. The quantitative data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27. The qualitative data was analyzed using NVIVO version 11. The relationship between the variables was established through Multivariate Statistical Analysis (MANOVA). The results were triangulated and presented using tables and figures. The results showed emerging adults were engaging in suicidal thinking (17%) and attempts (7.8%). Studying at a private university, living in hostels and living alone were risk factors for suicidal behaviours. Additionally, female students engaged in suicidal behaviours: thought dying was better than living (t=13.0, p.004); purchased items to end their lives (t=4.2, p.043); came close to taking away their lives (t=8.8, p.002) and engaged in cutting (t=5.4, p.036) as a form of self-harm. Family relations, chronic and mental illness, maltreatment and parental divorce before the age of 12 were risks for suicidal behaviours. Feelings of hopelessness, depression, anxiety and financial difficulties were the psychological stressors associated with suicidal behaviours in emerging adulthood. Religion was both a protective and a risk factor for suicidal behaviours. These findings will greatly inform marriage and family therapists' practises as they seek to prevent, mitigate and intervene for suicidal behaviours in emerging adulthood. Other stakeholders who will benefit from this study include parents, university administrators, counsellors and chaplains, religious organizations and mental health providers. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://repo.pacuniversity.ac.ke/handle/123456789/5056 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | PAC University | |
| dc.title | Early Family Environment and Emerging Adults’ Suicidal Behaviours: A Case of Two Selected Universities in Nairobi County, Kenya. | |
| dc.type | Thesis |