Risk and protective factors associated with depression in young people: what do Nigerian university students know?

BACKGROUND: University students appear to experience a significantly higher rate of depression compared to the general population. However, there is limited data showing how much Nigerian university students know about the risk and protective factors related to depression. OBJECTIVES: To assess the knowledge of risk and protective factors associated with depression in young people among students of a Nigerian university. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted among simple randomly selected students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Two validated self-administered questionnaires were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics and multivariate binary logistic regression were used for the data analysis. RESULTS: Out of 1591 participants, about 47% and 60% had good knowledge of risk and protective factors related to depression, respectively. The course of study, year of study, contact with a depressed person, and personal experience of depression significantly predicted students' knowledge of risk factors for depression. Similarly, course of study, year of study, and gender were the significant predictors of students' knowledge of protective factors against depression. CONCLUSIONS: The students had good knowledge of protective factors against depression, but were poor in knowledge of its associated risks. Therefore, provision of mental health services in the universities is recommended.