Prevalence of Depression and Help-Seeking Behaviour Among Undergraduate Students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, North West Nigeria

Depression is one of the most common mental health conditions affecting university students worldwide, yet help-seeking behaviour for psychological distress remains constrained in Nigerian higher education settings by stigma, limited service awareness, and cultural misconceptions. This study assesses the prevalence of depressive symptoms and patterns of help-seeking behaviour among undergraduate students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. A cross-sectional survey is conducted with 300 students selected through proportionate stratified sampling from five colleges. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 measures depressive symptoms, and a locally adapted Help-Seeking Behaviour Questionnaire assesses prior help-seeking experience, preferred help sources, and perceived barriers. SPSS is used for frequency analysis, chi-square tests, and logistic regression. Recent Nigerian literature from North West campuses identifies financial stress, academic failure fears, and social isolation as dominant depression triggers in this population, with peer support and religious counselling as the most commonly accessed, though informal, help sources. The Health Belief Model guides the analysis of help-seeking behaviour determinants. Findings are anticipated to reveal a moderate to high depression prevalence with low formal service utilisation, informing university counselling centre resource allocation and stigma reduction campaigns. Keywords: depression, help-seeking, undergraduate students, Ahmadu Bello University, North West Nigeria.