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Prevalence and Factors Associated with Psychological Distress Among Adolescents in Sierra Leone in 2017

Received: 4 December 2021    Accepted: 18 January 2022    Published: 24 January 2022
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Abstract

Adolescent mental health problems are a public health challenge around the world and particularly in a country like Sierra Leone that has experienced war and the Ebola virus epidemic. Adolescents may suffer from psychological distress with school and family determinants. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with psychological distress among school-going adolescent in Sierra Leone. This involved the secondary analysis of the data from the Sierra Leone, 2017 Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS). The dependent variable was “psychological distress,” which was assessed using two questions: 1) “In the past 12 months, how often have you worried about something to the point of not being able to sleep at night?” and 2) “In the past 12 months, how often have you felt lonely?” A weighted analysis of the data was performed using the software STATA version 12.0 (Stata Corporation, College Station, Texas, United States). One in two adolescents surveyed was male (51.53%). The average age of these school-going adolescents was 15.32±1.73 years. The average age of the boys was 15.37±1.74 years and that of girls was 15.15±1.66 years. The prevalence of psychological distress in this population was 26.81% CI95%=[24.91 - 28.70]. The boys seemed to suffer more of psychological distress than the girls (28.95% CI95%=[26.12 - 31.78] vs 24.54% CI95%=[22.05 - 27.01]). The factors associated with psychological distress among school-going adolescents were bullying, lack of respect for their privacy, alcohol and/or cannabis use, multiple sexual partnerships and sedentary lifestyle. The psychological distress among adolescents in Sierra Leone is real. Knowing the risk factors for psychological distress in adolescents will improve its prevention and promote the mental health of these future adults.

Published in American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience (Volume 10, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajpn.20221001.12
Page(s) 4-12
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Psychological Distress, Adolescents, School, GSHS, Sierra Leone

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Tchedie Etdechie Elvyre Klikpo, Alphonse Kpozehouen, Yolaine Glele Ahanhanzo, Lucrece Anagonou, Emilie Fiossi Kpadonou, et al. (2022). Prevalence and Factors Associated with Psychological Distress Among Adolescents in Sierra Leone in 2017. American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 10(1), 4-12. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20221001.12

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    Tchedie Etdechie Elvyre Klikpo; Alphonse Kpozehouen; Yolaine Glele Ahanhanzo; Lucrece Anagonou; Emilie Fiossi Kpadonou, et al. Prevalence and Factors Associated with Psychological Distress Among Adolescents in Sierra Leone in 2017. Am. J. Psychiatry Neurosci. 2022, 10(1), 4-12. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpn.20221001.12

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    AMA Style

    Tchedie Etdechie Elvyre Klikpo, Alphonse Kpozehouen, Yolaine Glele Ahanhanzo, Lucrece Anagonou, Emilie Fiossi Kpadonou, et al. Prevalence and Factors Associated with Psychological Distress Among Adolescents in Sierra Leone in 2017. Am J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2022;10(1):4-12. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpn.20221001.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajpn.20221001.12,
      author = {Tchedie Etdechie Elvyre Klikpo and Alphonse Kpozehouen and Yolaine Glele Ahanhanzo and Lucrece Anagonou and Emilie Fiossi Kpadonou and Dismand Houinato and Josiane Ezin Houngbe and Roger Salamon},
      title = {Prevalence and Factors Associated with Psychological Distress Among Adolescents in Sierra Leone in 2017},
      journal = {American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience},
      volume = {10},
      number = {1},
      pages = {4-12},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajpn.20221001.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20221001.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajpn.20221001.12},
      abstract = {Adolescent mental health problems are a public health challenge around the world and particularly in a country like Sierra Leone that has experienced war and the Ebola virus epidemic. Adolescents may suffer from psychological distress with school and family determinants. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with psychological distress among school-going adolescent in Sierra Leone. This involved the secondary analysis of the data from the Sierra Leone, 2017 Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS). The dependent variable was “psychological distress,” which was assessed using two questions: 1) “In the past 12 months, how often have you worried about something to the point of not being able to sleep at night?” and 2) “In the past 12 months, how often have you felt lonely?” A weighted analysis of the data was performed using the software STATA version 12.0 (Stata Corporation, College Station, Texas, United States). One in two adolescents surveyed was male (51.53%). The average age of these school-going adolescents was 15.32±1.73 years. The average age of the boys was 15.37±1.74 years and that of girls was 15.15±1.66 years. The prevalence of psychological distress in this population was 26.81% CI95%=[24.91 - 28.70]. The boys seemed to suffer more of psychological distress than the girls (28.95% CI95%=[26.12 - 31.78] vs 24.54% CI95%=[22.05 - 27.01]). The factors associated with psychological distress among school-going adolescents were bullying, lack of respect for their privacy, alcohol and/or cannabis use, multiple sexual partnerships and sedentary lifestyle. The psychological distress among adolescents in Sierra Leone is real. Knowing the risk factors for psychological distress in adolescents will improve its prevention and promote the mental health of these future adults.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Prevalence and Factors Associated with Psychological Distress Among Adolescents in Sierra Leone in 2017
    AU  - Tchedie Etdechie Elvyre Klikpo
    AU  - Alphonse Kpozehouen
    AU  - Yolaine Glele Ahanhanzo
    AU  - Lucrece Anagonou
    AU  - Emilie Fiossi Kpadonou
    AU  - Dismand Houinato
    AU  - Josiane Ezin Houngbe
    AU  - Roger Salamon
    Y1  - 2022/01/24
    PY  - 2022
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20221001.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajpn.20221001.12
    T2  - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
    JF  - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
    JO  - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
    SP  - 4
    EP  - 12
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-426X
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20221001.12
    AB  - Adolescent mental health problems are a public health challenge around the world and particularly in a country like Sierra Leone that has experienced war and the Ebola virus epidemic. Adolescents may suffer from psychological distress with school and family determinants. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with psychological distress among school-going adolescent in Sierra Leone. This involved the secondary analysis of the data from the Sierra Leone, 2017 Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS). The dependent variable was “psychological distress,” which was assessed using two questions: 1) “In the past 12 months, how often have you worried about something to the point of not being able to sleep at night?” and 2) “In the past 12 months, how often have you felt lonely?” A weighted analysis of the data was performed using the software STATA version 12.0 (Stata Corporation, College Station, Texas, United States). One in two adolescents surveyed was male (51.53%). The average age of these school-going adolescents was 15.32±1.73 years. The average age of the boys was 15.37±1.74 years and that of girls was 15.15±1.66 years. The prevalence of psychological distress in this population was 26.81% CI95%=[24.91 - 28.70]. The boys seemed to suffer more of psychological distress than the girls (28.95% CI95%=[26.12 - 31.78] vs 24.54% CI95%=[22.05 - 27.01]). The factors associated with psychological distress among school-going adolescents were bullying, lack of respect for their privacy, alcohol and/or cannabis use, multiple sexual partnerships and sedentary lifestyle. The psychological distress among adolescents in Sierra Leone is real. Knowing the risk factors for psychological distress in adolescents will improve its prevention and promote the mental health of these future adults.
    VL  - 10
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Adult Psychiatry Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Abomey Calavi, Cotonou, Benin

  • Department of Epidemiology, Regional Institute of Public Health, University of Abomey Calavi, Ouidah, Benin

  • Department of Epidemiology, Regional Institute of Public Health, University of Abomey Calavi, Ouidah, Benin

  • Child Psychiatry Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Abomey Calavi, Cotonou, Benin

  • Child Psychiatry Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Abomey Calavi, Cotonou, Benin

  • Epidemiological Laboratory of Chronic and Neurological Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences (FSS), University of Abomey Calavi, Cotonou, Benin

  • Adult Psychiatry Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Abomey Calavi, Cotonou, Benin

  • Institute of Public Health, Epidemiology and Development, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France

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