Abstract
Adolescents' nutritional access plays a critical role in physical development and mental well-being, particularly in resource-constrained settings. Despite its importance, empirical evidence on the linkage between household food security and adolescent mental health remains limited in low- and middle-income countries such as Nigeria. This study investigates this association in Osun State, Nigeria, aiming to examine the relationship between household food insecurity and adolescent mental health. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 400 heads of households and adolescents was conducted in Osun State, Nigeria, using a multi-stage sampling. Adolescents were administered the Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) questionnaire to assess their mental well-being status. The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) questionnaire was used to assess the level of food insecurity among the heads of households. 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. One hundred and twenty-five (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.