Depression is a leading cause of disability and has been projected to become the 2nd most burdensome disease by the year 2020; depression has also been found to be the strongest single risk factor for attempted or completed suicides. Adolescent-onset mood disorders are frequently unrecognized or misdiagnosed and often go untreated. While there is a growing literature on the mental health literacy of adults, there has not been a parallel interest in the mental health literacy of young people in Nigeria. The study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey conducted among students of a Federal Government College (high school) in south-east Nigeria. All consenting students in the senior secondary classes (grades 10–12) were recruited, making a total of 285 participants. The participants were presented with the ‘friend in need’ questionnaire designed to elicit the participants’ recognition of the disorder depicted in two vignettes and their recommendation about the appropriate source of help-seeking. One vignette was of a clinically depressed case while the other vignette was about a girl undergoing normal life crisis. Out of the 285 students recruited into the study, 277 questionnaires were adequately completed indicating a response rate of 97.2%. A total of 4.8% (n = 13) participants correctly identified and labelled the depression vignette. Only four respondents (1.5%) recommended professional help from a Psychiatrist or Psychologist. Insomnia was the most identified symptom of distress for depression (17.1%). Females demonstrated higher mental health literacy, in terms of their ability to correctly label the depression vignettes, their expression of greater concern over a depressed peer than males, their expectation that depression requires a longer recovery than normal teenage problems and in their ability to identify individual symptoms of depression. Family and friends were the most recommended source of help. Mental health literacy was abysmally low amongst the adolescents surveyed. There’s an urgent need to increase mental health awareness in Nigeria.

Objective: This study sought to assess knowledge of schizophrenia and help-seeking behaviour among undergraduate students of a Nigerian university. Sociodemographic predictors of correct recognition were also explored. Design: The study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey. Setting: The study was carried out at the University of Nigeria, a pioneer university located in Southeastern Nigeria. Participants: Undergraduate students of the University of Nigeria. Methods: All consenting male and female students of three purposively selected faculties were recruited for the study. Self-administered vignette-based questionnaires were distributed to students of the selected faculties between September and November 2018. Data were analysed using the IBM Statistical Product and Services Solution for Windows V.21.0. Results: Out of the 400 questionnaires that were distributed, 389 were completed and returned (97.3% response rate). Respondents were mainly female (64.9%, n=252) and were between the ages of 18 and 24 years (75.8%, n=294). One in eight respondents (12.1%, n=47) correctly identified and labelled the schizophrenia vignette. Hallucination was the most identified symptom of distress for schizophrenia (47.9%, n=186). The most common alternative label for schizophrenia was ‘mental illness’ (24.7%, n=96). Schizophrenia was also mislabelled as depression (11.6%, n=45). More than a 10th of the respondents used stigmatising labels such as ‘crazy’ and ‘mad’ (11.1%, n=43). Psychiatrists were the most recommended source of help for the vignette character (36.3%, n=141). There was a strong association between the faculty of study and the ability to correctly identify and label the schizophrenia vignette (χ ² =44.557, p<0.001). Conclusion: Mental health literacy among students of the University of Nigeria was poor. Research on culturally sensitive interventions to improve mental health literacy should be embarked on.

Background: Mental health disorders are increasingly becoming a global concern among university students. The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress among pharmacy students in Nigeria is unknown. Objective: This study sought to examine the occurrence of depression, anxiety and stress and associated sociodemographic factors among undergraduate pharmacy students in Nigeria. Methods: The study was an online-based cross-sectional descriptive survey conducted among students from seven pharmacy schools in Nigeria. Students were recruited via their class WhatsApp groups and a link to a Google Form was provided for those who agreed to participate in the study. Data were analysed using IBM Statistical Product and Services Solution for Windows version 21.0. Results: A total of 408 students out of approximately 3,068 students responded to the survey (response rate: 13.32%). The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress was 44.6%, 63.5%, and 35%, respectively. Depression was found to be strongly correlated with stress (r=0.739, p<0.001) and anxiety (r=0.715, p<0.001). Depression, anxiety and stress scores significantly correlated with perceived academic performance and year of study. There was no significant association between gender, cigarette smoking, type of accommodation, and the levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Conclusion: The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress among pharmacy students responding to a survey in Nigeria was high. Students in lower years of study and those with perceived poor academic performance had higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress. More studies are needed to explore the causes of depression, anxiety and stress among pharmacy students.

Background: People with mental health problems are more vulnerable to a broad range of coercive practices and human rights abuses. There is a global campaign to eliminate, or at the very least decrease, the use of coercion in mental health care. The use of coercion in psychiatric hospitals in developing countries is poorly documented. The primary aim of this study was to explore service users’ perceptions and experiences of coercion in psychiatric hospitals in Nigeria. Methods: Four focus group discussions were carried out among 30 service users on admission in two major psychiatric hospitals in Nigeria. The audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and then analyzed thematically with the aid of MAXQDA software. Results: The Focus group participants included 19 males and 11 females with a mean age of 34.67 ± 9.54. Schizophrenia was the most common diagnosis (40%, n = 12) and had a secondary school education (60%, n = 18). The focus group participants perceived coercion to be a necessary evil in severe cases but anti-therapeutic to their own recovery, an extension of stigma and a vicious cycle of abuse. The experience of involuntary admission revolved mainly around deception, maltreatment, and disdain. Participants in both study sites narrated experiences of being flogged for refusing medication. Mechanical restraint with chains was a common experience for reasons including refusing medications, to prevent absconding and in other cases, punitively. The use of chains was viewed by participants as dehumanizing and excruciatingly painful. Conclusion: The experiences of coercion by participants in this study confirm that human rights violations occur in large psychiatric hospitals and underscore the need for mental health services reform. The use of coercion in this context reflects agelong underinvestment in the mental health care system in the country and obsolete mental health legislation that does not protect the rights of people with mental health problems. The study findings highlight an urgent need to address issues of human rights violations in psychiatric hospitals in the country.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the prevalence of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Maiduguri.Design/methodology/approach: The study was a cross-sectional study that took place among the six IDP camps located in Maiduguri metropolis in Borno State. A non-randomized technique was used to sample 1,200 respondents. Face-to-face interviews with selected members of households were carried out confidentially. The study used the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Impact of Event Scale-6 which were translated to Kanuri. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed using SPSS version 21.Findings: The response rate was 100 percent. In total, 96.1 percent (1,153) of the respondents were depressed, while 78 percent (936) of the respondents were symptomatic for PTSD. The prevalence rate of comorbid PTSD with depression was 68.1 percent (817). About one-third of the respondents had moderately severe depression (29.6 percent,n=355) while about one in ten of them were severely depressed (11.3 percent,n=136). The odds of being depressed was 3.308 higher in people aged 51–60 years compared to people between 18 and 20 years. Significant predictors of depression in the sampled population were screening positive for PTSD and being unemployed.Practical implications: The high prevalence of depression and PTSD among the sampled population calls for structured interventions to deal with mental health problems. The study findings suggest the need for more research (preferably qualitative) on the mental health issues in this population.Originality/value: This study contributes to the sparse available literature on the mental health of IDPs in Nigeria.