DATASET ON SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC PREDICTORS OF HELP-SEEKING FOR POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

Postpartum depression (PPD) remains a hidden public health challenge in Northern Nigeria, where cultural expectations and socioeconomic disparities often silence women’s mental health needs. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour, this study examined how demographic factors such as age, income, education, and number of children shape women’s help-seeking behaviour for PPD in Yobe and Niger States. Using data from 519 women of reproductive age, analysed through SmartPLS Structural Equation Modelling, the findings reveal that income exerted the strongest influence on help-seeking behaviour (β = 0.463), followed by education (β = 0.301), age (β = 0.243), and number of children (β = 0.171). These results underscore that economic capacity and educational attainment substantially enhance women’s perceived behavioural control and willingness to seek support. The study’s proposed Socio-Demographic Enabling Model (SDEM) reconceptualises these variables as structural determinants of psychological readiness for care. It concludes that improving women’s financial independence, access to education, and mental health literacy is vital to bridging the maternal mental health gap in Nigeria产后抑郁症（Postpartum Depression, PPD）仍是尼日利亚北部一项隐蔽的公共卫生挑战，当地的文化期望与社会经济差异常令女性的心理健康需求被湮没。本研究以计划行为理论（Theory of Planned Behaviour）为指导框架，聚焦约贝州与尼日尔州，探讨年龄、收入、受教育程度、子女数量等人口统计学因素如何影响产后抑郁症女性的求助行为。本研究纳入519名育龄女性的数据，通过SmartPLS结构方程模型进行分析后发现，收入对求助行为的影响最为显著（β=0.463），其次为受教育程度（β=0.301）、年龄（β=0.243）与子女数量（β=0.171）。上述结果表明，经济能力与受教育水平可显著提升女性的感知行为控制能力与寻求支持的意愿。本研究提出的社会人口学赋能模型（Socio-Demographic Enabling Model, SDEM）将上述变量重新概念化为护理心理准备度的结构性决定因素。本研究最终指出，提升女性的经济独立性、受教育机会与心理健康素养，对于弥合尼日利亚的孕产妇心理健康差距至关重要。