A qualitative study of perceptions towards suicidal behaviour in relation to academic pressure in university students

Abstract

Within South Africa suicide is the fastest growing and the second leading cause of death amongst university students (Bantjes et al., 2019). This contemporary increase is notably attributed to the relationship between academic related stress and suicidal behaviour (Banerjee et al., 2016). Research done shows that one of the main causes of suicidal thoughts and action is academic related, and due to high pressure put on the students to perform (Bantjes et al., 2017). The present study aimed to identify whether university students perceived there to be a relationship between academic pressure and suicidal behaviour. The data collection method selected for this research was an in-depth interview, specifically a standardised open-ended interview. This method was used so that an in-depth understanding could be made about the topic and meanings could be uncovered. The findings suggested that university students do perceive there to be a relationship between academic pressure and suicidal behaviour, and these findings can be used to show the prevalence of the issue of suicidal behaviour in undergraduate university students within South Africa.