Depression-Related Distress in Mauritian and South African Adolescent Girls: An Exploratory INVESTIGATION1 (original) (raw)
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Psychological Reports, 2010
Self-reports of depression-related distress were obtained from girls of 14 to 17 years of age living in communities of low socioeconomic status in Mauritius (n = 198) and South Africa (n = 275). Of the girls in the two samples, 26.3 and 21.5%, respectively, had thought about self-harm during the past 5 yr., while between 14.6 and 16.7% had made self-harm attempts. Also, 39.9% of the Mauritian girls and 31.0% of the South Africans reported being sad and tearful every day for more than 2 wk. over the past year. Of the girls, Mauritians (54.0%) and South Africans (32.1%) felt their problems were too much to cope with, while 20.4% of the South African girls and 44.4% of the Mauritians knew of no place to go for help when feeling sad or depressed. The findings highlight the extent of depressionrelated symptoms and issues related to access to mental health services. Increasing mental health services and awareness programmes are indicated.
Preventing Adolescent Depression in Mauritius: A Universal School-Based Program
Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 2011
Background: This study evaluated the efficacy of a universal prevention program for adolescent depresssion implemented by school teachers in Mauritius. Method: 160 adolescents were randomly assigned to the prevention program or wait-list. Results: Decreased depressive symptoms for the intervention condition were found post-intervention, but not at follow-up. Significant changes in self-esteem and coping skills were seen both post-intervention and at the follow-up. Conclusions: The results, drawing from a culturally diverse population, suggest that universal programs such as RAP-A may be better seen as promoting positive mental health, rather than having direct prevention or intervention effects on clinical problems.
Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 2015
Informed by the feminist social constructionist approach this study aimed at exploring the subjective experiences of depression of lowincome South African adolescent girls. Participants in this study (girls between the ages of 12 and 14) live in a semi-rural low-income coloured community in the Western Cape. Participants were familiar with the concept of depression, but it seemed that for them the central emotion associated with depression was anger, which often manifested in destructive behaviours. Furthermore, participants seemed to construct depression as a relational problem, suggesting that psychotherapy may be indicated as an important intervention strategy.
2020
Psychological distress (PD) may be common among adolescents. The study aimed to estimate population-based rates of PD among adolescents in South Africa. National cross-sectional data were analysed from 2,240 adolescents (17 years median age) that participated in a community-based population survey, the “2012 South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (SANHANES-1).” Results indicated that 16.0% of the adolescents had PD, 13.1% among boys and 18.5% among girls. In adjusted logistic regression analysis, increasing age, girls, belonging to the Black African population group, having experienced two or more traumatic life events, poor self-rated health status, having activity limitations, perceived body overweight, fast food and snack consumption were associated with PD. Almost one in six adolescents in South Africa reported PD and several associated factors were identified.
International Review of Psychiatry, 2020
Common mental disorders (CMDs) affect millions of people worldwide and impose a high cost to individuals and society. Youth are disproportionately affected, as has also been confirmed in South Africa. Mental disorders and substance use disorders often occur as concurrent disorders. Although youth in rural South Africa grow up in difficult social and economic conditions, the study of mental disorders in South Africa has focussed primarily on urban populations. One such rural area in South Africa is the Harry Gwala District, where rates of interpersonal violence and self-inflicted injuries among 15-24-year-old men, are extraordinarily high. Suicide is an important proxy measure of severe emotional distress, predominantly depression and hopelessness. This study reports on rates of fatal self-harm among 15-24-year-old men in the Harry Gwala District. We determined the rates and severity of CMDs and their correlates among 355 young males ranging in age from 14 to 24 years in the Harry Gwala District community. High rates of depression, anxiety, hopelessness and worthlessness were reported. One in four of the young men and boys reported current suicidal thoughts associated with depression, anxiety, feelings of worthlessness and binge drinking. Reports of alcohol use were high, as were those of daily cannabis use. Our findings show high rates of CMDs and alcohol use, and highlight the impact of collective dysphoria on the mental well-being of rural youth in South Africa, who are likely coping through drug and alcohol use.
Tropical Medicine & International Health, 2019
objective This study aimed to determine the burden of depression, suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviour amongst adolescents at sites in six sub-Saharan African countries and examine associated risk and protective factors. methods Household-based cross-sectional study involving male and female adolescents ages 10-19 years. A total of 7,662 adolescents from eight sites in six countries participated in the survey. Three sites were urban: Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Harar (Ethiopia) and Ibadan (Nigeria); five were rural: Dodoma (Tanzania), Iganga/Mayuge (Uganda), Kersa (Ethiopia), Ningo Prampram (Ghana) and Nouna (Burkina Faso). Log-binomials models were used to estimate relative risks and confidence intervals for factors associated with depression and suicidal behaviour. This was supplemented using log-Poisson models as needed. results The prevalence of suicidal behaviour over the last 12 months ranged between 1.2% and 12.4% in the eight sites. Depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation/behaviours were associated with older age, female sex, food insecurity, poor access to health care and substance use. Depression was strongly associated with increased risk of suicidal behaviour at two sites where the multivariate model converged: Harar, Ethiopia (RR = 3.5, 95% CI 1.8, 7.0, P < 0.05) and Ibadan, Nigeria (RR = 3.7, 95% CI 2.2, 6.3, P < 0.0001). conclusions Depressive symptoms and suicidal behaviour are common amongst sub-Saharan African adolescents at these 8 sites. Most factors associated with depressive symptoms are modifiable and preventable. Routine screening for depressive symptoms in services frequented by adolescents in these and similar communities would be crucial in early detection and prompt intervention. keywords depressive symptoms, suicidal behaviour, adolescents, sub-Saharan Africa, ARISE Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 1 (no poverty), SDG 2 (zero hunger), SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 5 (gender equity), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), SDG 10 (reduced inequalities), SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals) 54
Journal of Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 2013
Background: Depression is an important contributor to the global burden disease that affects people of communities all over the world. With high level of demands in academics and psychosocial pressure, medical students during their course of training tend to become depressed, leading to problems later in professional life and compromising patient care. In Cameroon, there is lack of data on the prevalence of depression and its impact on medical students. To determine the prevalence and predisposing factors associated with depression among medical students in Cameroon (preclinical and clinical). We also evaluated the impact of depression on self-reported academic performance. Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out in all 4 state medical schools in 4 different regions from December 2015 to January 2016. Diagnosis of depression, major depression and its associated factors were assessed using the 9-Item-Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and a structured questionnaire respectively. We included 618 medical students (response rate: 90.4%). Results: About a third of them (30.6%, 95% CI: 22.8-36.7) were found to have major depressive disorder (PHQ Score ≥ 10). With regards to the severity of depression, 214 (34.6%), 163 (26.4%), 21 (3.4%), and 5 (0.80%) students were classified as having mild, moderate, moderately severe and severe depression respectively. The presence of a chronic disease (OR: 3.70, 95% CI: 1.72-7.94, p = 0.001), major life events (OR: 2.17, 95%CI: 1.32-3.58, P = 0.002), female gender (OR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.06-2.37, p = 0.024) and being a student at the clinical level (OR: 4.26, 95% CI: 2.71-6.71, p < 0.001) were independently associated with depression. There was no association between depression and self-reported academic performance, (OR: 1.2, 95% CI: 0.9-1.7, p = 0.080). Conclusion: The prevalence of major depressive disorders among medical students in Cameroon is high and is associated with the presence chronic disease, major life events, female gender and being a student at the clinical level. So we recommend clinicians attending to medical students with demographic features suggestive of greater risk of depression, to make an in depth investigation on the possible presence of depression. Despite this high prevalence of major depression among medical students, it was not associated with self-reported academic performance.
South African Journal of Child Health
Globally, mental health problems contribute considerably to disability-adjusted life years and may be prevalent in about a quarter of young people. [1,2] In South Africa (SA), the adjusted prevalence of mental illnesses of adolescents in the Western Cape is estimated at 15-17%. [3] Also, the nationally representative South African Stress and Health (SASH) study showed that approximately 20% of youth in SA suffer from depression and stress-related conditions every year. [4,5] However, there remains a dearth of evidence on the rural-urban differences in prevalence and predictors of depression among adolescents in SA. Adolescents undergo various biological, cognitive, physiological, psychological, emotional and social changes. These changes affect their health and wellbeing. [6,7] As such, it has been noted that mental problems are more likely to develop during adolescence. [8] Generally, mental illnesses account for 45% of the burden of disease in people aged 10-24 years old, [7,9] with depression and anxiety noted as the leading causes of mental disorders. [2,10] Studies have also suggested that these disorders affect economic and educational outcomes and contribute to crime and suicide rates of adolescents. [2,10] Furthermore, research shows that female gender, [11,12] a low level of education, [13,14] higher age, [15,16] a lower socioeconomic status, [17,18] rural residency [19] and living in urban neighbourhoods [20] are associated with a higher prevalence of depression. In addition, racially advantaged population groups in any area appear to have a lower prevalence of depression, [21] while people's geographical location has also been shown to affect their depression status. [21,22] As mental health problems that develop during adolescence usually persist into adulthood, the prevalence of depression in adolescence remains a strong predictor for mental health problems in adulthood. [1,7] This means that mental health problems in lowand middle-income countries, including SA, must be addressed effectively to ensure optimal development of human capital for the future. [23] As such, the prevalence and predictors of depression among adolescents need to be assessed. This study examines the rural-urban differences in prevalence and predictors of depression among adolescents in SA. Methods The study used data from the 2014 National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), which was a survey of individuals and households across the nine provinces of SA. Data for adolescents aged 15-19 years were extracted from the survey results and used for this study. Depression status of respondents, used as the dependent variable, was derived from responses to the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale questionnaire (CES-D 10). The CES-D scale has been validated as a reliable measure of depression for the SA context based on NIDS data. [24] The 10 questions assess whether, in the week preceding the survey, certain feelings occurred: (i) rarely or none of the time; (ii) some or little of the time; (iii) occasionally or a moderate amount of time; or (iv) all of the time. Responses were then scored from '0' (rarely or none of the time) to '3' (all of the time). The exception to this scoring were questions 5 and 8 ('I feel hopeful about the future' and 'I was happy' , respectively), which were reverse coded on the Likert scale. Individual scores for each item were added up to calculate the overall depression score. Based on the scoring specification of the CES-D 10 scale, these scores were then expressed in terms of a a dichotomous variable, with 'depressed' Background. Mental health is part of overall health, but there is dearth of research on the rural-urban differences of depression among adolescents in South Africa (SA). Objectives. To present an analysis of rural-urban differences in the prevalence of depression and to assess the sociodemographic predictors of depression among adolescents in SA. Methods. Data were obtained from the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), wave 4 of 2014, which was conducted on a nationally representative sample of 3 751 respondents (15-19 years). Univariate analysis was used to describe the study population while bivariate analysis was used to test for significant differences in the depression status of the population. Finally, binary logistic regression was used to estimate the predictors of depression. Results. Urban adolescents (14.64%) were more depressed than their rural counterparts (9.40%). Gender, income levels and province of residence also showed significant differences in both rural and urban areas. The significant predictors of depression in both rural and urban areas were race, age, income and province of residence. Conclusion. Counselling and rehabilitation programmes should be targeted more at urban, more educated and higher-earning adolescents, especially in provinces with a relatively higher prevalence of depression.
Psychosocial Correlates of Suicidal Ideation in Rural South African Adolescents
Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 2014
Suicide is a prevalent problem among young people in Southern Africa, but prevention programs are largely absent. This survey aimed to identify the behavioral and psychosocial correlates of suicidal ideation among adolescents in Limpopo. A two-stage cluster sample design was used to establish a representative sample of 591 adolescents. Bivariate correlations and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. Findings show that suicidal ideation is prevalent among adolescents. The psychosocial factors perceived social support and negative feelings about the family and the behavioral factors forced sexual intercourse and physical violence by the partner were found to increase the risk of suicidal ideation. Depression mediated the relationship between these psychosocial and behavioral risk factors and suicidal ideation. This study increased our understanding of the psychosocial and behavioral predictors of adolescent suicidal ideation. The findings provide target points for future intervention programs and call for supportive structures to assist adolescents with suicidal ideation.