Influence of Job Demand on Mental Health among Police First Responders in Benue State, Nigeria

This study investigated influence of job demand on mental health among police first responders in Benue State, Nigeria, using 365 active-duty officers drawn from the Benue State Police Command through multistage sampling techniques. A Mental Health Inventory-38, was used to assess psychological distress and well-being, and the Job Demand subscale of the Job Content Questionnaire, comprising 5 items measuring psychological workload, time pressure, and role conflict. Simple linear regression analysis demonstrated that job demand exerted a significant positive influence on mental health challenges (β = .279, p < .001), with the model incorporating related occupational factors, explaining approximately 64.2% of the variance in mental health scores. Elevated job demands, particularly excessive workload, prolonged shifts, repeated trauma exposure, and resource constraints amid ongoing insecurity, were strongly associated with poorer mental health outcomes, including heightened risks of anxiety, depression, burnout, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. These results align with the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) framework and underscore the urgent need for evidence-based interventions such as workload management, trauma debriefing, and organizational support to mitigate occupational stressors and enhance resilience in high-risk policing environments like Benue State.