Faculty of Social Sciences

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Browsing Faculty of Social Sciences by Subject "Adolescence"

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    Associations between mild depression and anxiety and physical inactivity among school-going Ugandan adolescents aged 14 to 17 years
    (Journal of Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 2024-04) James, Mugisha; Tine, Van Damme; Davy, Vancampfort
    Objective: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate associations between physical activity levels and emotional and behavioural problems in school-going adolescents aged 14 to 17 years in Uganda. Methods: Two-hundred and five adolescents [median (interquartile range) age = 16.0 (1.0) years; female = 61.9%] completed the interviewer-administered Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 questionnaire (GAD-7), and the Physical Activity Vital Sign (PAVS) measure. Spearman’s rho correlations and Mann–Whitney U-tests were applied. Results: Among 205 adolescents, 97.1% were physically inactive (PAVS < 420min/week), while 64.4% reported either mild depressive (PHQ-9 ≥ 5) or anxiety (GAD-7 ≥ 5) symptoms. Higher PAVS scores correlated significantly with lower SDQ emotional problems (ρ = −0.23, p < 0.001), lower PHQ-9 (ρ = −0.26, p < 0.001), and lower GAD-7 (ρ = −0.22, p < 0.001) scores. Those with emotional problems (SDQ ≥ 5) (n = 86) were significantly less physically active than those without (n = 119) [30.0 (62.5) versus 60.0 (105.0) min/week, p < 0.001]. Those with depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥ 5) were significantly less physically active than those without [35.0 (70.0) versus 60.0 (120.0) min/week, p < 0.001]. Conclusion: Physical inactivity and mental health problems are related important public health concerns in school-going adolescents in low-income countries such as Uganda. The efficacy and effectiveness of school-based mental health literacy programs, including physical activity promotion, should be explored in these low-resource settings.
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    Growing up HIV-positive in Uganda: “psychological immunodeficiency”? A qualitative study
    (Springer Nature: BMC Psychology, 2017) Knizek, Birthe Loa; Mugisha, James; Osafo, Joseph; Kinyanda, Eugene
    This study is part of a longitudinal study among children and adolescents with HIV in both urban and rural Uganda: ‘Mental health among HIV infected CHildren and Adolescents in KAmpala and Masaka, Uganda (CHAKA)’. Method The study is constructed of both quantitative and qualitative components. In this article we report a qualitative study on the experiences of 21 adolescents (twelve to seventeen years) living with HIV in Uganda. The purpose of the study was to investigate both the protective and the risk factors in HIV-infected adolescents’ care environment in order to understand what might contribute to negative outcomes and what might provide a protective buffer against harmful life events. Semi-structured interviews with vignettes about mental disorders were employed and a phenomenological analysis was done. Results The findings uncovered that the adolescents’ families were mostly characterized by instability and diffuse relationships that provided an insecure basis for secure attachment and emotional support. Even in stable and secure family environments, there was no guarantee for getting sufficient emotional support in order to develop a positive self-concept due to the fate being the only infected child in the family. Both secure attachment and positive self-concept are known psychological protective mechanisms that provide the individual with resilience. The adolescents in this study seemed hampered in the development of protective mechanisms and consequently seemed psychologically vulnerable and badly equipped for coping with challenges, which paves the way for the possible development of mental disorders. Conclusion To change the focus towards strengthening the children and adolescents’ development of psychological protective mechanisms implicates a change in focus from illness to health and has consequences for both treatment and prevention. Psychological health promotion must be systemic and aim at strengthening the family environment, but also to establish peer group support.
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    Loneliness, social isolation, and suicidal ideation and attempt among adolescents living with HIV: a cross-sectional study in masaka, Uganda
    (Springer Link- Global Social Welfare, 2024-10-18) Atwebembere, Raymond; Nakasujja, Noeline; Mugisha, James; Ssewamala, Fred; Mckay, Mary
    One in six people are aged 10–19 years. Adolescence is a unique and formative time. Physical, emotional, and social changes, including exposure to poverty, abuse, or violence, can make adolescents vulnerable to mental health problems. Protecting adolescents from adversity, promoting socio-emotional learning and psychological well-being, and ensuring access to mental healthcare are critical for their health and well-being during adolescence and adulthood. Globally, it is estimated that 1 in 7 (14%) 10–19 year-olds experience mental health conditions (1), yet these remain largely unrecognized and untreated. Adolescents with mental health conditions are particularly vulnerable to social exclusion, discrimination, stigma (affecting readiness to seek help), educational difficulties, risk-taking behaviors, physical ill-health, and human rights violations.
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    Sedentary behavior and anxiety-induced sleep disturbance among 181,093 adolescents from 67 countries: a global perspective
    (Elsevier: Sleep Medicine, 2019-06) Vancampfort, Davy; Van Damme, Tine; Stubbs, Brendon; Smith, Lee; Firth, Joseph; Hallgren, Mats; Mugisha, James; Koyanagi, Ai
    Sleep problems are burdensome in adolescents. Understanding modifiable environmental risk factors is essential. There is evidence that physical activity is protective against sleep problems in adolescents. However, the association between sedentary behavior (SB) and anxiety-induced sleep disturbance has not been investigated. Methods Using cross-sectional data from the Global school-based Student Health Survey, we explored the association between SB and anxiety-induced sleep disturbance in 181,093 adolescents [mean (standard deviation, SD) age 13.7 (1.0) years; 48.4% girls] from 67 countries, controlling for confounders (including physical activity). Adolescents reported anxiety-induced sleep disturbance during the past 12 months, and SB, which was a composite variable assessing time spent sitting and watching television, playing computer games, talking with friends during a typical day excluding the hours spent sitting at school and doing homework. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted and a countrywide meta-analysis undertaken. Results Overall, 7.8% of adolescents had anxiety-induced sleep disturbance. The prevalence of SB was: <1 h/day 39.9%; 1–2 h/day 33.8%; 3–4 h/day 15.4%; 5–8 h/day 7.4%; and >8 h/day 3.6%. Compared to <1 h/day of SB, >8 h/day was associated with a 2.27 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.98–2.62] times higher odds for anxiety-induced sleep disturbance. The association was similar among both sexes. The pooled odds ratio for anxiety-induced sleep disturbance when being sedentary ≥3 h/day was 1.42 (95% CI = 1.36–1.48) with only a small degree of between-country heterogeneity (I2 = 41.4%). Conclusions Future longitudinal data are required to confirm/refute the findings to inform public interventions which aim to reduce anxiety and sleep disturbance in adolescents.