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Exposure to violence and mental health of adolescents: South African Health and Well-being Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Stephen A. Stansfeld ,
Catherine Rothon ,
Jayati Das-Munshi ,
Cathy Mathews ,
Arlene Adams ,
Charlotte Clark  and
Crick Lund
Stephen A. Stansfeld*
Affiliation:
Centre for Psychiatry, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Barts and the London, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
Catherine Rothon
Affiliation:
St George's University of London, London, UK
Jayati Das-Munshi
Affiliation:
Department of Health Service and Population Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), Kings College London, London, UK
Cathy Mathews
Affiliation:
Health Systems Research Unit, Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa; School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Arlene Adams
Affiliation:
Department of Student Affairs, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Charlotte Clark
Affiliation:
Centre for Psychiatry, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Barts and the London, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
Crick Lund
Affiliation:
Alan J. Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Centre for Global Mental Health, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
*
Stephen A. Stansfeld, Centre for Psychiatry, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK. Email: s.a.stansfeld@qmul.ac.uk
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Abstract

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Background

Material and social environmental stressors affect mental health in adolescence. Protective factors such as social support from family and friends may help to buffer the effects of adversity.

Aims

The association of violence exposure and emotional disorders was examined in Cape Town adolescents.

Method

A total of 1034 Grade 8 high school students participated from seven government co-educational schools in Cape Town, South Africa. Exposure to violence in the past 12 months and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were measured by the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, depressive and anxiety symptoms by the Short Moods and Feelings Questionnaire and the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale.

Results

Exposure to violence was associated with high scores on depressive (odds ratio (OR)=6.23, 95% CI 4.2–9.2), anxiety (OR=5.40, 95% CI 2.4–12.4) and PTSD symptoms (OR=8.93, 95% CI 2.9–27.2) and increased risk of self-harm (OR=5.72, 95% CI 1.2–25.9) adjusting for gender and social support.

Conclusions

We found that high exposure to violence was associated with high levels of emotional disorders in adolescents that was not buffered by social support. There is an urgent need for interventions to reduce exposure to violence in young people in this setting.

Type
Paper
Information
BJPsych Open , Volume 3 , Issue 5 , September 2017 , pp. 257 - 264
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2017

Footnotes

Declaration of interest

None.

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