Abstract

Women's mental health is crucial because their well-being plays a significant role in maintaining the stability of families and society at large. This study investigated influence of hopelessness, anxiety and social support on mental health among women in Lafia Metropolis of Nasarawa State, Nigeria. The study employed ex-post facto research design where 386 participants (women) were used. The demographic characteristics of the participants include: O’Level 220 (56.99%), ND/NCE 96 (24.8%), HND/BSc 50 (12%), M.Sc 18 (4.6%) and PhD 2 (0.5%). The participants were randomly drawn from Lafia metropolis through simple random and purposive sampling methods. The Beck hopelessness scale, the Beck anxiety scale and the general health questionnaire scale were used for data collection. Four hypotheses were tested using simple linear regression and multiple linear regressions. The study revealed significant relationships between key factors and women's mental health. Hopelessness negatively predicted mental health (R = .243, ß = -.243, p < .05), as does anxiety (R = .456, ß = -.456, p < .05). Conversely, higher levels of social support positively predicted mental health (R = .717, p < .05). Importantly, the study identified a significant interactive effect involving hopelessness, anxiety, and social support on mental health (R² = .526, p < .05). Based on these findings, it was concluded that hopelessness and anxiety negatively predicted mental health. Social support positively predicted mental health. From the results, it is recommended that government and non-governmental agencies should proffer psychosocial support to women which can serve as a buffer to their mental health.