Family Dynamics and Adolescent Suicidal Vulnerability in Nigeria: A Sociological Analysis

Abstract

Adolescent suicide has increasingly become a critical public health and social concern in Nigeria, Despite the central role of the family as the primary institution of socialisation, shifts in family structures and dynamics have raised concerns about their implications for adolescent psychological wellbeing and vulnerability to suicidal ideation and behaviour. This study examines the relationship between family structure and adolescent suicide risk within the Nigerian context, with particular attention to how different family configurations and interaction patterns influence adolescents’ mental health outcomes. Drawing on sociological theories and empirical studies, the research explores the extent to which structural arrangements such as polygamous households, single-parent families, parental separation, and orphanhood contribute to adolescents’ emotional distress, while also examining the role of family processes including domestic conflict, parental expectations, family chaos, and social support systems. The study adopts a qualitative and analytical research design based on a review and synthesis of recent epidemiological findings, sociological theories, and empirical research on adolescent mental health in Nigeria. The analysis integrates insights from Durkheim’s theory of social integration, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, and contemporary gene environment interaction perspectives in order to explain how family environments shape adolescents’ psychological resilience or vulnerability. The findings reveal that while certain family structures may expose adolescents to heightened psychological stress, the quality of family interactions particularly emotional support, stability, and constructive communication plays a more decisive role in either mitigating or intensifying suicide risk. The study concludes that family is both a source of risk and a resource for protection.