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Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis has had a significant impact on young people's mental health, and available evidence suggests that if action is not taken to address this issue, there will be a surge in mental health crises among young people. In the context of Nigeria where labour informality is prevalent, many young people have lost their jobs and sources of livelihoods during this pandemic. With hardly any support from the government, many young people are falling into states of sadness, anxiety, and depression. Against this background, this study assessed the impact of reciprocity of social support on the mental health of young people working in the informal sector, from the viewpoint that an individual is both an active and passive support provider and receiver. Linear multiple regression analysis was used to test the impact of reciprocity on the mental health of 686 young informal workers between the ages of 18 to 35 years who participated in the survey. The result from the analysis revealed that engaging in reciprocal relationships was positively associated with improved mental health among young people during the COVID19 pandemic. Finally, this finding suggests that social support reciprocity should be fostered as one of the non-medical approaches to enhancing mental health during public health crises, such as the COVID-19.

Biography of speaker

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