Living in Nigeria can be challenging for many. From issues of insecurity like kidnapping and terrorism, to the broader economic malaise of high inflation and low economic growth, to the daily challenges of running a business, these challenges put pressure on the mental health of Nigerians.
A 2018 study by the World Bank looks at the first nationally representative estimates of chronic depression in Nigeria to shed light on how it may be linked to economic outcomes, such as the labour market and human capital investments, especially in heavy-conflict areas or for individuals or communities who have experienced shocks or deaths.
Broad Impacts of depression
The study found that 22% of Nigerian respondents have depressive symptoms, with 74% of that number being household heads. The fact that more household heads experience depression should be no surprise, as they are tasked with being breadwinners. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.
The study also found that being in the bottom 30% of the income distribution increased the likelihood of depression. Once again, this would be no surprise. Financial pressures tend to strain every aspect of one’s life. Being unable to care for one’s family due to financial hardship is sure to affect the mental health of the breadwinner.
Depression is strongly associated with adverse events, like conflict. Given Nigeria’s numerous security crises, this should be of interest to policymakers. In fact, the study found that more than 50% of respondents affected by conflicts were depressed, a rate that is twice the national average.
This also makes sense. Conflict leads to loss of life and property. In some cases, all a person owns can be caught in a bloody conflict or the individual can be dispossessed as a result or lose loved ones. Such losses are likely to trigger depressive episodes, making the affected people less likely to participate in society.
This brings us to another finding of the study, which is that a respondent who has depressive symptoms is eight percent less likely to participate in the labour market, like agricultural activities for men and non-farm self-employment for women. A key outcome of the various conflicts in Nigeria – particularly terrorist activity and farmer-herder conflicts –- has been reduced farming activity, which has hurt domestic agricultural productivity and increased food prices.
The Gender dimension to depression
Depression does not appear to affect both genders in Nigeria equally. According to the study, 27% of respondents with depressive symptoms are female, while 73% are male. With men more likely to be the breadwinners in the home or at least take more psychological responsibility to provide for their families financially, adverse events like loss of jobs or the inability to engage in farming activities will hit them disproportionately. There is also the issue that these men may lack the tools to process their trauma effectively, where it manifests in behaviour like irritability, anger, risk taking and substance abuse.
Another gendered impact of depression is its impact on young girls. The World Bank study found that families with a parent who has depressive symptoms spend nearly 30 US$ less in educational expenses annually, driven by lower investments among older girls between 12 and 18 years of age. In addition, younger children (particularly girls) between 5 and 11 years of age who live with a parent with depressive symptoms are 2.5 percentage points more likely to work.
Since depression is likely to hurt a person’s productivity and therefore income, it means that others in the household have to step up to provide the necessary support. That is a task that often falls on the girl child.
There is also a clear gender difference in suicides in Nigeria. Data from the World Population Review has shown that between 2019 to 2021 more Nigerian men have committed suicide than women due factors like unbearable emotional pain, extreme anxiety or sadness, full of rage or agitated, guilt or ashamed, that there is no reason to live, severe fluctuations in mood or changes in mood.
Although the percentage of suicidal cases among men and women dropped between 2019 to 2021 the figure remains higher among men.
Aside from Nigeria, other West African countries have recorded cases of suicide as a result of depression and other mental health issues.
Kafilat Taiwo is a data journalist and researcher at Dataphyte. She holds a degree in Mass Communication and a Diploma in Health Studies.
She focuses on gender reporting, health communication, solutions journalism, investigative reporting, and social accountability reporting to influence policy for developmental purposes.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @K_taiwoh
LinkedIn: Kafilat Taiwo
