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Prevalence of PTSD Among Adolescent Boys in Selected Secondary Schools in Machakos County, Kenya

Received: 15 September 2020     Accepted: 25 September 2020     Published: 12 October 2020
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Abstract

Background: Adolescents throughout the world are at risk of developing PTSD. PTSD has detrimental long term effects on every facet of life and has been shown to negatively impact the various areas of life. These areas often include: academic performance, cognitive abilities, emotion regulation and behavioural regulation. In adolescents, PTSD has particularly been implicated in high dropout rates which subsequently leads to poverty, fewer opportunities and a decreased lifespan. Objective: The purpose of this study was to establish the prevalence of PTSD among adolescent boys in selected secondary schools in Machakos County, Kenya. Methods: Two secondary schools were conveniently sampled with a total of 976. The adolescent boys were aged 14-17-years. The respondents filled a Socio-Demographic Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Child PTSD Symptom Scale-V-Self Report (CPSS-V-SR) which screened for PTSD symptoms. Results: The findings showed that the prevalence of PTSD was at 27.6%. The findings also showed that respondents who lived in other counties (exclusive of Nairobi County and Machakos County) had the least frequency of 42 (15.6%) but reported the highest mean PTSD symptoms at 24.5 (±24.5) and a statistically significant mean difference established in the counties p<0.006. Conclusion: The need for psychotherapy in secondary schools is therefore essential in order to alleviate PTSD prevalence. This is also crucial in order to buffer adolescents from comorbid diseases and psychological disorders.

Published in American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 9, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.12
Page(s) 140-144
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), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

PTSD, Prevalence, Adolescents, Boys, Secondary Schools, Kenya

References
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[4] Horesh, D., & Brown, A. D. (2018). Editorial: Post-traumatic Stress in the Family. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00040
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[11] Foa, E. B., Asnaani, A., Zang, Y., Capaldi, S., & Yeh, R. (2018). Psychometrics of the Child PTSD Symptom Scale for DSM-5 for Trauma-Exposed Children and Adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 47 (1), 38–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2017.1350962
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Assumptor Mukangi, Stella Nyagwencha, Mary Mogute. (2020). Prevalence of PTSD Among Adolescent Boys in Selected Secondary Schools in Machakos County, Kenya. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 9(5), 140-144. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.12

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    ACS Style

    Assumptor Mukangi; Stella Nyagwencha; Mary Mogute. Prevalence of PTSD Among Adolescent Boys in Selected Secondary Schools in Machakos County, Kenya. Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2020, 9(5), 140-144. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.12

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    AMA Style

    Assumptor Mukangi, Stella Nyagwencha, Mary Mogute. Prevalence of PTSD Among Adolescent Boys in Selected Secondary Schools in Machakos County, Kenya. Am J Appl Psychol. 2020;9(5):140-144. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.12,
      author = {Assumptor Mukangi and Stella Nyagwencha and Mary Mogute},
      title = {Prevalence of PTSD Among Adolescent Boys in Selected Secondary Schools in Machakos County, Kenya},
      journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
      volume = {9},
      number = {5},
      pages = {140-144},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.20200905.12},
      abstract = {Background: Adolescents throughout the world are at risk of developing PTSD. PTSD has detrimental long term effects on every facet of life and has been shown to negatively impact the various areas of life. These areas often include: academic performance, cognitive abilities, emotion regulation and behavioural regulation. In adolescents, PTSD has particularly been implicated in high dropout rates which subsequently leads to poverty, fewer opportunities and a decreased lifespan. Objective: The purpose of this study was to establish the prevalence of PTSD among adolescent boys in selected secondary schools in Machakos County, Kenya. Methods: Two secondary schools were conveniently sampled with a total of 976. The adolescent boys were aged 14-17-years. The respondents filled a Socio-Demographic Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Child PTSD Symptom Scale-V-Self Report (CPSS-V-SR) which screened for PTSD symptoms. Results: The findings showed that the prevalence of PTSD was at 27.6%. The findings also showed that respondents who lived in other counties (exclusive of Nairobi County and Machakos County) had the least frequency of 42 (15.6%) but reported the highest mean PTSD symptoms at 24.5 (±24.5) and a statistically significant mean difference established in the counties p<0.006. Conclusion: The need for psychotherapy in secondary schools is therefore essential in order to alleviate PTSD prevalence. This is also crucial in order to buffer adolescents from comorbid diseases and psychological disorders.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Prevalence of PTSD Among Adolescent Boys in Selected Secondary Schools in Machakos County, Kenya
    AU  - Assumptor Mukangi
    AU  - Stella Nyagwencha
    AU  - Mary Mogute
    Y1  - 2020/10/12
    PY  - 2020
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.12
    T2  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    JF  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    JO  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    SP  - 140
    EP  - 144
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5672
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.12
    AB  - Background: Adolescents throughout the world are at risk of developing PTSD. PTSD has detrimental long term effects on every facet of life and has been shown to negatively impact the various areas of life. These areas often include: academic performance, cognitive abilities, emotion regulation and behavioural regulation. In adolescents, PTSD has particularly been implicated in high dropout rates which subsequently leads to poverty, fewer opportunities and a decreased lifespan. Objective: The purpose of this study was to establish the prevalence of PTSD among adolescent boys in selected secondary schools in Machakos County, Kenya. Methods: Two secondary schools were conveniently sampled with a total of 976. The adolescent boys were aged 14-17-years. The respondents filled a Socio-Demographic Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Child PTSD Symptom Scale-V-Self Report (CPSS-V-SR) which screened for PTSD symptoms. Results: The findings showed that the prevalence of PTSD was at 27.6%. The findings also showed that respondents who lived in other counties (exclusive of Nairobi County and Machakos County) had the least frequency of 42 (15.6%) but reported the highest mean PTSD symptoms at 24.5 (±24.5) and a statistically significant mean difference established in the counties p<0.006. Conclusion: The need for psychotherapy in secondary schools is therefore essential in order to alleviate PTSD prevalence. This is also crucial in order to buffer adolescents from comorbid diseases and psychological disorders.
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 5
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Daystar University, Nairobi, Kenya

  • School of Humanities and Social Sciences, United States International University-Africa, Nairobi, Kenya

  • School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Daystar University, Nairobi, Kenya

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