Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 2 of 2
Mental health problems in women attending district-level services in South Africa
- Authors:
- PILLAY Anthony, KRIEL Anita J.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Science and Medicine, 63(3), August 2006, pp.587-592.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Various sociodemographic and clinical variables pertaining to women using district-level clinical psychology services in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa were examined. During the year 2004, a total of 422 women accessed this service. Over one-third had relationship problems, 21% depression, and 14% suicidal behaviour. Nearly half the women reported significant financial problems. Of the 174 married (or cohabiting) women, 94.8% experienced relationship problems, 56.9% reported substance-abusing partners, and 48.3% reported violent partners, and 51.1% perceived their partners as disengaged while 37% viewed them as oppressive. Clinician estimates revealed notably low self-esteem in 65% of the women.The authors conclude that mental health services and training programmes need to become more cognisant of gender issues to develop gender-sensitive interventions.
Longitudinal evaluation of the psychosocial well-being of recent orphans compared with non-orphans in a school-attending cohort in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
- Authors:
- BACHMAN DeSILVA M., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 14(3), 2012, pp.162-182.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
To assess differences in psychosocial well-being between recent orphans and non-orphans, we followed a cohort of 157 school-going orphans and 480 non-orphans ages 9–15 in a context of high HIV/AIDS mortality in South Africa from 2004 to 2007. Several findings were contrary to the published evidence to date, as we found no difference between orphans and non-orphans in anxiety/depression symptoms, oppositional behavior, self-esteem, or resilience. Female gender, self-reported poor health, and food insecurity were the most important predictors of children's psychosocial well-being. Notably, girls had greater odds of reporting anxiety/depression symptoms than boys, and scored lower on self-esteem and resilience scales. Food insecurity predicted greater anxiety/depression symptoms and lower resilience. Perceived social support was a protective factor, as it was associated with lower odds of anxiety/depression symptoms, lower oppositional scores, and greater self-esteem and resilience. Our findings suggest a need to identify and strengthen psychosocial supports for girls, and for all children in contexts of AIDS-affected and economic adversity. (Publisher abstract)