SOCIAL MEDIA ATTITUDE AND USAGE AS CORRELATES OF SUICIDAL TENDENCIES AMONG COLLEGES OF EDUCATION STUDENTS IN PLATEAU STATE
Keywords:
Suicidal Tendencies, Social Media Attitude, Social Media Usage, College StudentsAbstract
The study was carried out on Social Media Attitude and Usage as Correlates of Suicidal Tendencies among Colleges of Education Students in Plateau State. In order to achieve the purpose of the study, four research questions and two hypotheses were formulated. The study used the correlational research design and the population of the study was two thousand, six hundred and eighty-five students (2,685) of NCE 3 across Colleges of Education in Plateau State. However, the researcher selected 268 NCE 3 students as sample through proportionate stratified and simple sampling techniques. Primary data were collected through the use of two questionnaires titled “Multi-Attitude Suicidal Tendency Scale (MASTS) and Social Media Attitude and Usage Scale (SMAUS)”. The study utilised the descriptive and inferential statistical methods of analysis. Specifically, percentage, frequency, mean were used to answer the research questions and to determine which of the questionnaire items is to be rejected or accepted based on the decision point of 3.0. Also, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMC) was used to test the hypothesis formulated at the 0.05 significance level. The research findings showed that there was a relationship between social media attitude and suicidal tendencies amongst students of Colleges of Education in Plateau State and there was significant relationship between social media usage and suicidal tendencies amongst students of Colleges of Education in Plateau State. It was therefore recommended among others that it is crucial to prioritise mental health support services for college students in Plateau State.
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