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Impact of Student Support Groups on Help-Seeking Behaviour among University Students in Nigeria

Abstract

Help-seeking behaviour is an important component of mental health promotion and early intervention among university students in Nigeria. University students may experience academic pressures, financial difficulties, relationship challenges, family problems, social adjustment difficulties, and psychological distress that may require emotional or professional support. However, many students may delay or avoid seeking assistance because of stigma, fear of judgment, concerns about confidentiality, limited awareness of available services, cultural beliefs, and uncertainty about where to obtain appropriate support. Student support groups provide an avenue through which students can interact with peers, share experiences, receive emotional support, obtain information about available resources, and develop confidence in seeking appropriate assistance. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of student support groups on help-seeking behaviour among university students in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on Social Support Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, and the Theory of Planned Behavior. Social Support Theory emphasizes the role of emotional, informational, instrumental, and peer support in helping individuals cope with difficulties and access appropriate assistance. Social Cognitive Theory explains how observational learning, self-efficacy, social interaction, behavioural skills, and supportive environments may influence students' willingness to seek help. The Theory of Planned Behavior explains how attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and behavioural intentions may influence students' decisions to seek support when experiencing psychological or personal difficulties. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how student support groups may influence help-seeking behaviour among university students in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled in selected public and private universities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select states, universities, faculties, departments, and eligible students. Student support groups will be measured using indicators such as availability of support groups, frequency of group meetings, duration of participation, group membership, peer-support activities, facilitated discussions, emotional support, informational support, referral information, group-led mental health education, confidentiality practices, peer encouragement, and access to trained facilitators. Help-seeking behaviour will be assessed using indicators such as willingness to seek assistance, actual use of counselling services, consultation with healthcare professionals, disclosure of psychological difficulties to trusted persons, use of university support services, peer-support utilization, referral uptake, timely help-seeking, and willingness to seek professional assistance when experiencing significant distress. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, validated help-seeking behaviour instruments, and relevant student support programme records where available. Where a quasi-experimental design is used, help-seeking behaviour will be assessed before and after participation in the support group intervention. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students' demographic and academic characteristics, support-group participation, and help-seeking patterns. Inferential statistical techniques, including paired or independent sample tests, chi-square tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of student support groups on help-seeking behaviour. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that student support groups have a significant positive impact on help-seeking behaviour among university students in Nigeria. Students who participate in structured support groups are expected to demonstrate greater willingness to seek appropriate assistance and increased utilization of counselling, healthcare, peer-support, and other available services compared with their baseline behaviour or students without similar group participation. Peer discussions, shared experiences, emotional support, information about available services, encouragement from group members, and referral guidance may reduce uncertainty and stigma surrounding help-seeking. Support groups may also improve students' confidence in discussing personal difficulties and increase awareness of when professional assistance is necessary. However, concerns about confidentiality, stigma, fear of judgment, negative peer experiences, inadequate counselling services, limited trained facilitators, irregular group meetings, and cultural beliefs about seeking mental health assistance may reduce the effectiveness and sustainability of student support groups. The study therefore expects accessible, confidential, well-structured, and appropriately facilitated student support groups to contribute significantly to improved help-seeking behaviour among university students in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on student support groups, help-seeking behaviour, peer support, university student mental health, mental health promotion, social support, counselling services, early intervention, health education, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the National Universities Commission, Federal Ministry of Education, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, university administrators, student affairs departments, counselling centres, university health services, psychologists, counsellors, social workers, student organizations, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening student mental health support systems. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for establishing and strengthening student support groups, training peer-support facilitators, improving confidentiality and referral procedures, increasing awareness of university counselling and healthcare services, reducing stigma surrounding help-seeking, and developing sustainable student mental health support programmes across universities in Nigeria.

Keywords: Student support groups, help-seeking behaviour, university students, peer support, mental health promotion, counselling services, student mental health, social support, early intervention, health education, Nigeria, public health.