MENTAL ILLNESS: CAUSAL BELIEFS, ATTITUDE, HELP-SEEKING PATHWAYS AND COUNSELLING IMPLICATIONS

Abstract

 The purpose of this study was to investigate the causal beliefs, attitudes, and helping-seeking pathways of mental illness, as well as the counselling implications of adults in the Anambra State community of Ihiala. Three research questions guided the study. This paper adopted a descriptive survey research design. To select 200 participants from Ihiala, a semi-urban Igbo community in Anambra State, multi-stage (random and opportunity) sampling was used. This study had three structured questionnaires, each covering a specific purpose. The instruments were subjected to face and content validation to make sure they were valid. The Cronbach Alpha Method was used to determine the internal consistency of the instruments, and an overall co-efficient of 0.89 was obtained. Ten undergraduate students were recruited and briefed to help with the administration of the questionnaires to the participants. Frequency counts and percentages were used to answer the research questions 1, while the arithmetic mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions 2 and 3. The findings revealed that the most frequently endorsed causal categories were "misuse of substances," "evil forces," "brain injury," and hereditary. There was a lot of prejudice and negative attitude given to mentally ill people as well as pathways to mental healthcare for mental illness among Igbo people in Anambra State. Based on the study's findings, it was suggested that the government, in collaboration with counsellors and non-governmental organizations, launch comprehensive mental health prevention programs. The effectiveness of these programmes will assist in reducing high-risk problems experienced as a result of a lack of mental health information. Such information and mental health education could essentially decrease the number of people that are victims of various forms of health diseases and illnesses.