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.
Highlights
With the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) formulated on 20th November 1989 and ratified by 196 countries worldwide, among them Kenya, the legal status of children and adolescents changed [1]
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
We investigated group differences between adolescents who had suffered any kind of abuse and those without abuse regarding age, time living in the CCI and symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress by calculating independent t tests
Summary
With the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) formulated on 20th November 1989 and ratified by 196 countries worldwide, among them Kenya, the legal status of children and adolescents changed [1]. Child abuse and neglect are incompatible with these rights, they continue to be a global problem [2] with negative effects on mental health up to years later [3]. Risk factors for abuse and neglect of children and adolescents in Kenya, include, but are not limited to, geographical locations (such as Northern, North Eastern, Coastal areas), informal urban settlements, cultural practices such as female genital mutilation and early girl child marriage, socio-cultural factors that bring about gender inequality; low social and economic status, male sex for physical abuse and female sex for sexual abuse, violence and harmful practices, children lacking.
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