Attitude Toward Mental Health Help-Seeking Among University Students in Kogi State

This study investigates attitudes toward mental health help-seeking among undergraduate students at Federal University Lokoja and Kogi State University in Kogi State, North Central Nigeria. Despite growing mental health challenges among Nigerian university students, formal help-seeking behaviour remains low. Cultural stigma, lack of awareness, and inadequate campus mental health infrastructure are widely cited barriers, but few studies have examined these dynamics in Kogi State's distinctive multi-ethnic educational context. This research employed a cross-sectional survey design involving 380 students from both institutions, selected through stratified random sampling. The Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Short Form and a locally developed Mental Health Stigma Scale were administered. Pearson correlation, independent samples t-tests, and multiple regression were applied. Results reveal that the majority of students held moderately negative attitudes toward formal mental health help-seeking, with public stigma and self-stigma as the two strongest deterrents. Female students demonstrated significantly more positive help-seeking attitudes compared to male students. Students who had prior exposure to mental health information through social media or academic programmes showed lower stigma scores and more positive attitudes. The study recommends that universities in Kogi State implement targeted anti-stigma campaigns, expand campus counselling visibility, and incorporate mental health literacy content into general studies curricula. Keywords: mental health help-seeking, attitudes, university students, Kogi State, stigma.