Mental health and sexual risk behaviours in a South African township: A community-based cross-sectional study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between child sexual abuse and sexual risk behaviours as well as its potential mediators. Design/methodology/approach – This cross-sectional study used data from a cross-sectional study from 12,800 women between 15 and 49 years of age included in the 2008 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied to assess the association between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and sexual risk behaviours. Findings – The authors found that CSA was directly associated with sexual risk behaviours. In addition, the association between CSA and sexual risk behaviour was also partially mediated by alcohol and cigarette use. Research limitations/implications – The results show that being abused in childhood is important for the subsequent development of sexual risk behaviours in adulthood and the association is mediated by alcohol and cigarette use. Practical implications – The results may be helpful for policy makers and health care planners in designing cultural sensitive public health intervention that will reduce the burden of CSA, its long-term effects (sexual risk behaviours) and intervening mediators that increase the risks. Social implications – These findings suggest that to reduce sexual risks, interventions to address sexual abuse needs to include other social problems (smoking, alcohol) that victims result to when faced with trauma. Originality/value – The current study is the only one so far in sub-Saharan Africa to have explored the relation between CSA and sexual risk behaviours using SEM.

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Prevalence and predictors of depression, anxiety, and stress among adults in Ghana: A community-based cross-sectional study

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0258105 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (10) ◽

pp. e0258105

Author(s):

Hubert Amu ◽

Eric Osei ◽

Philip Kofie ◽

Richard Owusu ◽

Samuel Adolf Bosoka ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Formal Education ◽

Adult Population ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Health Issues ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Community Based ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Mental Health Issues ◽

Predictors Of Depression

Introduction Over the past two decades, there have been several global interventions including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aimed at improving health outcomes. Despite efforts by countries to achieve the SDG targets, mental health challenges remain major public health concerns globally. We examined the prevalence and predictors of depression, anxiety, and stress as well as the comorbidities of these mental health issues among adults. Materials and methods This was a community-based cross-sectional study conducted among 2456 adults in four districts of the Volta Region of Ghana using data from the UHAS-Yonsei University Partnership Project. We analysed the data using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, correlation, and binary logistic regression. Results Overall, 51.8% of the participants had at least one of the mental health issues examined. The prevalence of a mental health issue was 25.2%, 53.3%, and 9.7% for depression, anxiety, and stress respectively. Participants constituting 8.3% experienced all three mental health issues as comorbidities. Participants’ level of formal education and income significantly predicted depression, anxiety, and stress respectively at the multivariable level. Adults with a tertiary level of education were, for instance, 68% (AOR = 0.32, 95%CI = 0.15–0.66), 65% (AOR = 0.35, 95%CI = 0.17–0.73), and 50% (AOR = 0.50, 95%CI = 0.33–0.76) less likely to experience depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively compared with those who had no formal education. Conclusion The majority of our study participants either experienced depression, anxiety, or stress. There were quite high comorbidities of the mental health issues among the adult population. To accelerate progress towards the achievement of SDG 3.4 target of promoting mental health and wellbeing for all by the year 2030, there is a need for effective implementation of the country’s 2012 Mental Health Act which makes provisions for the establishment of a Mental Health Fund. This could improve the financial circumstances of indigenes as income has been realised in the present study as an important factor influencing depression, anxiety, and stress among the adult population.

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