Child labor and mental health status of in-school adolescents in a municipal local government area of Lagos state, Nigeria.

Background: Child labor (CL) is on the increase in developing countries with its adverse consequences. Many studies have related CL to physical and social well-being and not mental health (MH). This study was designed to assess the experience of CL and mental health status (MHS) among in-school adolescents and determine the association between them, if any, in a metropolitan area of Lagos state, Nigeria.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in eight private and four public secondary schools using a two-stage cluster sampling method. A semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on CL and MH. Experience of CL was assessed through a "yes" or "no" response to whether respondents had ever worked or were currently working in exchange for money or not. MHS was measured with the Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire (SDQ). The SDQ is a 25-item instrument with two subdivisions: strength (prosocial) and difficulty scales. Difficulty scale is categorized into emotional, conduct, hyperactivity and peer problems. Each category of the subdivision was scored as normal (low need), borderline (some need) and abnormal (high need). The scores were modified into "positive" (low need) and "negative" (some need and high need). Total difficulty was scored "positive" (0-15) and "negative" (16-40) and prosocial behavior was scored "positive" (6-10) and "negative" (0-5). Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, Chi-squared test and logistic regression at α < 0.05.

Results: The mean age of respondents was 14.1 ± 1.9 years with 61.4% aged 14 years and above and 59.2% were female. About a quarter (23.8%) experienced CL with apprenticeship being the most common form (55%) followed by street trading (10%). About 20% of the respondents had negative MHS on the overall difficulty scale and 8.0% on the prosocial scale. Based on the ratings of the difficulty scale, 39.1% of them had problems with peers, 19.3% had emotional problems, 17.2% had conduct problems and 7.6% were hyperactive. Sex, mothers' and fathers' levels of education, and school absenteeism were predictors of CL experience. Respondents who lived with both parents had lower odds of having negative MHS [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.39; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.187-0.815].

Conclusion: The study revealed that among in-school adolescents in the study area, a considerable percentage of children were involved in CL and had poor MHS especially peer and conduct problems. Concerted efforts at reducing the menace of CL and interventions to promote the MH of in-school adolescents are hereby advocated.