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

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.