Expressive Therapy and Its Perceived Effects on Suicide Prevention among Youths in the Buea Municipality, Southwest Region, Cameroon.

Suicide among youths is a pressing public health concern globally, with limited studies on preventive options in Cameroon. This study investigated the perceived effect of expressive therapy (art, music, dance, and drama) on suicide prevention among youths in the Buea Municipality, Southwest Region, Cameroon. A Sequential Explanatory Mixed-Methods design was adopted. Data were collected from 396 youths aged 13–30 years using a questionnaire adapted from the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), alongside a researcher-developed expressive therapy exposure tool and semi-structured interview and focus group guides. Participants were selected using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 through descriptive and inferential statistics including Pearson correlation and one-sample z-tests, while qualitative data were thematically analyzed. Findings showed most participants were adolescents aged 13–17 years (83.8%), with females representing 55.8% and males 44.2%. Expressive therapies were positively perceived and associated with reduced suicidal ideation (r = -0.41, p < 0.01), with music therapy being most accessed and effective (mean = 3.95; 68.77%), followed by dance (3.27; 33.75%), drama (3.09), and art therapy (3.06). Triangulation confirmed consistent quantitative and qualitative patterns. The study concludes that expressive therapy is a culturally viable and highly effective intervention for suicide prevention among youths in Buea, particularly music and dance therapies, while mental health literacy remains a key protective factor. Recommendations include integrating structured expressive therapy into schools and communities, strengthening practitioner capacity, and increasing awareness campaigns to improve help-seeking behaviors and scalability.