Adolescent Mental Well-Being and Household Food Security: insights from a cross sectional Study in Irewole Local Government Area, Osun State, Nigeria
Listed in
This article is not in any list yet, why not save it to one of your lists.Abstract
Adolescent growth and mental well-being can be influenced by access to food and nutrition, particularly in environments with limited resources. However, studies to unravel these associations, especially in developing countries like Nigeria, are crucial; therefore, more investigation is required to comprehend this association, particularly in Nigeria. Hence, this study was conducted in Osun State, Nigeria, to assess the relationship between adolescent mental health and household food security. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 400 heads of households and adolescents was conducted in Osun State, Nigeria, using a multistage sampling. The adolescents used the Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) to assess their mental well-being status, and the head of household used the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) to report the level of household food security. IBM SPSS version 25 was utilized for the analysis of the data. Results: Among the adolescents, 210 (51.7%) were male, with an average age of 15 ± 2.5 years. The majority (366; 90.1%) were in-school adolescents. One hundred and sixty-six (39.4%) were from households with low-wealth status. Most adolescents (308; 75%) belonged to severely food-insecure households. Also, 125 (30%) had flourishing mental well-being, 241 (59%) had mild mental well-being and 40 (9%) had languishing mental well-being. The odds of flourishing mental well-being were 13 times higher for those from food-secure households [OR: 13.1, 95% CI: 5.5–31.2, p < 0.001], and threefold for moderately food-insecure individuals [OR: 3.2, 95% CI: 1.7–6.2, p = 0.001], compared to their severely food-insecure counterparts. Conclusion: This research highlights the key role of household food security in adolescent mental well-being. Adolescents from food-insecure homes have significantly lower mental well-being. To address this, strategies should be implemented to improve household food production, provide comprehensive nutrition education, and integrate mental well-being assessments into school health programs, ensuring early identification and intervention.