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Prevalence of Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress, Depression and Anxiety Among Abused and Neglected Adolescents in Charitable Children’s Institutions in Nairobi

Received: 17 May 2018     Accepted: 4 June 2018     Published: 18 June 2018
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Abstract

Children living in institutions experience separation from their birth parents and other caregivers. Further, they also suffer from the effects of abuse and neglect which led to their institutionalization as well as effects of institutional care despite the fact that their physical needs like food, clothing and shelter are adequately met. The purpose of this study was to establish the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety disorder, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among adolescents with a history of abuse and neglect living in charitable children’s institutions (CCIs) in Nairobi County, Kenya. Three purposely selected CCIs in Nairobi, Kenya, housing 341 adolescents aged between 13-18 years were studied. Of these, 232 adolescents provided informed consent or assent depending on age, reported sociodemographic data and answered questions about experiences of abuse and neglect. They also completed the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ), Beck’s Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Beck’s Depression Inventory II (BDI-II). Of the 232 respondents, 63.2% had experienced abuse and neglect. Analyses of mental health symptoms indicated that symptoms of anxiety had the highest point prevalence of 84.1%, followed by those of depression at 50.4% and PTSD at 21.6%. Due to the abuse experienced, adolescents living in CCIs represent a vulnerable group in terms of mental health and psychological support adapted to the needs of this group should be provided.

Published in American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 7, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajap.20180702.12
Page(s) 37-43
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), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Anxiety, Depression, PTSD, Adolescents, Abuse, Charitable Children’s Institutions, Kenya

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  • APA Style

    Stella Kemuma Nyagwencha, Alice Munene, Naomi James, Ricarda Mewes, Antonia Barke. (2018). Prevalence of Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress, Depression and Anxiety Among Abused and Neglected Adolescents in Charitable Children’s Institutions in Nairobi. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 7(2), 37-43. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20180702.12

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    ACS Style

    Stella Kemuma Nyagwencha; Alice Munene; Naomi James; Ricarda Mewes; Antonia Barke. Prevalence of Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress, Depression and Anxiety Among Abused and Neglected Adolescents in Charitable Children’s Institutions in Nairobi. Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2018, 7(2), 37-43. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20180702.12

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    AMA Style

    Stella Kemuma Nyagwencha, Alice Munene, Naomi James, Ricarda Mewes, Antonia Barke. Prevalence of Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress, Depression and Anxiety Among Abused and Neglected Adolescents in Charitable Children’s Institutions in Nairobi. Am J Appl Psychol. 2018;7(2):37-43. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20180702.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajap.20180702.12,
      author = {Stella Kemuma Nyagwencha and Alice Munene and Naomi James and Ricarda Mewes and Antonia Barke},
      title = {Prevalence of Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress, Depression and Anxiety Among Abused and Neglected Adolescents in Charitable Children’s Institutions in Nairobi},
      journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
      volume = {7},
      number = {2},
      pages = {37-43},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.20180702.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20180702.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.20180702.12},
      abstract = {Children living in institutions experience separation from their birth parents and other caregivers. Further, they also suffer from the effects of abuse and neglect which led to their institutionalization as well as effects of institutional care despite the fact that their physical needs like food, clothing and shelter are adequately met. The purpose of this study was to establish the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety disorder, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among adolescents with a history of abuse and neglect living in charitable children’s institutions (CCIs) in Nairobi County, Kenya. Three purposely selected CCIs in Nairobi, Kenya, housing 341 adolescents aged between 13-18 years were studied. Of these, 232 adolescents provided informed consent or assent depending on age, reported sociodemographic data and answered questions about experiences of abuse and neglect. They also completed the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ), Beck’s Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Beck’s Depression Inventory II (BDI-II). Of the 232 respondents, 63.2% had experienced abuse and neglect. Analyses of mental health symptoms indicated that symptoms of anxiety had the highest point prevalence of 84.1%, followed by those of depression at 50.4% and PTSD at 21.6%. Due to the abuse experienced, adolescents living in CCIs represent a vulnerable group in terms of mental health and psychological support adapted to the needs of this group should be provided.},
     year = {2018}
    }
    

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    T1  - Prevalence of Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress, Depression and Anxiety Among Abused and Neglected Adolescents in Charitable Children’s Institutions in Nairobi
    AU  - Stella Kemuma Nyagwencha
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    AB  - Children living in institutions experience separation from their birth parents and other caregivers. Further, they also suffer from the effects of abuse and neglect which led to their institutionalization as well as effects of institutional care despite the fact that their physical needs like food, clothing and shelter are adequately met. The purpose of this study was to establish the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety disorder, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among adolescents with a history of abuse and neglect living in charitable children’s institutions (CCIs) in Nairobi County, Kenya. Three purposely selected CCIs in Nairobi, Kenya, housing 341 adolescents aged between 13-18 years were studied. Of these, 232 adolescents provided informed consent or assent depending on age, reported sociodemographic data and answered questions about experiences of abuse and neglect. They also completed the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ), Beck’s Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Beck’s Depression Inventory II (BDI-II). Of the 232 respondents, 63.2% had experienced abuse and neglect. Analyses of mental health symptoms indicated that symptoms of anxiety had the highest point prevalence of 84.1%, followed by those of depression at 50.4% and PTSD at 21.6%. Due to the abuse experienced, adolescents living in CCIs represent a vulnerable group in terms of mental health and psychological support adapted to the needs of this group should be provided.
    VL  - 7
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Author Information
  • Department of Psychology and Counseling, Daystar University, Nairobi, Kenya

  • Department of Psychology and Counseling, Daystar University, Nairobi, Kenya

  • Department of Psychology and Counseling, Daystar University, Nairobi, Kenya

  • Department of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Germany

  • Department of Psychology, Philipps University, Marburg, Germany

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