PREVALENCE AND CORRELATES OF MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS AMONGST ADOLESCENTS WHO WITNESS PARENTAL INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of intimate partner violence among couples is high, affecting both genders and a significant number of these couples have children and/or adolescents living in these homes who are witnesses to these occurrences. Several studies have shown a high prevalence of mental health problems among adolescents exposed to parental intimate partner violence especially internalizing problems like depression and anxiety and externalizing problems which include behavioural problems; an adolescent can be exposed to more than one form of intimate partner violence and an increase in co-morbidity of mental health problems in cases where there are more than one form of violence. Several studies has been conducted in high-income countries on the physical and mental health consequences of children and adolescents exposed to IPV but very few studies has been carried out in low-income countries, therefore, this study is expected to bridge the gap in knowledge. Methodology: This study was a cross-sectional study conducted in the Alimosho local government area of Lagos State, Nigeria. Five private secondary schools and the arms of each of the classes used in this study were randomly selected. Three hundred and eighty-five respondents who provided consent and assent were used in this study. Emotional and Physical violence as types of intimate partner violence were assessed in this study. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were used to evaluate mental health status and the self-esteem of the respondents. Self-reported questionnaires written in the English language were used as this is the acceptable language used in schools in Lagos state. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was utilized in this study. The Chi-square test was used to evaluate for associations if any, between categorical variables, binary logistic regression was used to find relationships between variables Results: The majority of the respondents were between the ages of 14 and 17 (mid-adolescence), about 1 in 4 respondents had been exposed to parental intimate partner violence. The most common type of parental IPV reported in this study was emotional violence (24.4%). This study found a significant difference in the prevalence of mental health problems among adolescents who had witnessed parental IPV and adolescents who had not. Adolescents who had witnessed parental IPV were two times more likely to have had a mental health problem compared to adolescents who had not witnessed parental IPV. This study, however, found no significant association between socio-demographic characteristics and adolescents' exposure to parental IPV. Over 60% of the respondents who had witnessed parental IPV met the criteria for anxiety, depression and alcohol abuse. Comparing the prevalence of mental health problems of adolescents who had witnessed parental IPV across the types of exposure to parental IPV, the prevalence of depression, anxiety and low self-esteem were statistically significant. Statistically significant associations were found between depression, suicidal ideation and exposure to both types of parental IPV as compared with adolescents who had no exposure to parental IPV. Conclusion: The findings in this study show significant associations with studies carried out in other parts of the world. The study provided epidemiological data on adolescents’ exposure to parental IPV and the mental health problems among adolescents who witnessed parental IPV. This study inferred that adolescents exposed to parental IPV are at great risk of mental health problems as much as the direct victims of IPV. There is a serious need for policymakers to include the children and adolescents exposed to parental IPV in treatment and rehabilitation to reduce the risk of mental health problems