Mental health dynamics of adolescents: A one-year longitudinal study in Harari, eastern Ethiopia.
PLoS One
; 19(4): e0300752, 2024.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38635790
ABSTRACT
AIMS:
This study aims to assess the dynamics of in-school adolescents' mental health problems in Harari regional state, eastern Ethiopia for a year. MATERIALS ANDMETHODS:
Using multistage sampling technique, we conducted a year-long longitudinal study at three public high schools between March 2020 and 2021. Three hundred fifty-eight in-school adolescents were chosen by systematic random sampling for the baseline assessment, and 328 completed the follow-up assessment. We used self-administered, adolescent version of SDQ-25 Questionnaire to collect the data. Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test and McNemara's Chi-squared tests were used to examine the median difference and distribution of mental health problems between times one and two. Random-effects logistic regressions on panel data was used to identify factors associated with mental health problems. A p-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.RESULTS:
The magnitude of overall mental health problems at baseline assessment was 20.11% (95% CI 16-25), with internalizing problems accounting for 27.14% (95% CI 23-32) and externalizing problems accounting for 7.01% (95% CI 4.6-10.3). At the follow-up assessment, these proportions rose to 22.56% (95% CI, 18-27) for overall problems and 10.3% (95% CI, 7.7-14.45) for externalizing problems. On other hand, internalizing problems decreased unexpectedly to 22.86% (95% CI, 18.6-27.7) at follow-up assessment. Internalizing problem scores at time two were significantly lower than baseline among older adolescents, girls and those with average wealth index in our study cohort.CONCLUSIONS:
The prevalence of mental health problems were high among the study cohort. The proportion of overall problems and externalizing problems has increased over time, indicating a deterioration in the mental health of the study cohort. However, the decrease in internalizing problems among older adolescents, girls, and those with an average wealth index is a positive sign. The findings highlight that tailored interventions are required to reduce externalizing problems and maintain the decrease in internalizing problems. These interventions should target middle-aged and male adolescents from low-income families.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Instituciones Académicas
/
Salud Mental
Límite:
Adolescent
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Región como asunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
PLoS One
Asunto de la revista:
CIENCIA
/
MEDICINA
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Etiopia
Pais de publicación:
Estados Unidos