Villaveces Andrés, Shankar Viswanathan, Palomeque Francisco, Padilla Mabel, Kress Howard
Division of Violence Prevention, NCIPC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
Inj Prev. 2022 May 6. doi: 10.1136/injuryprev-2021-044510.
Mental health problems ranging from depression to more severe acts such as self-harm or suicidal behaviours are a serious problem among adolescents and young adults. Exposure to violence during the life of young people can increase mental health issues for youth. This study examines the relationship between exposure to violence and mental health issues among youth using a nationally representative study in Malawi.
We analysed data from the nationally representative Violence Against Children Survey from Malawi (2013) to quantify the association between exposures to violence (physical, sexual and emotional) and their relationship with mental distress, self-harm behaviours and suicidal ideation and attempts among youth aged 13-24 years. We evaluated the association of exposures to violence against children with reported mental health conditions among women and men. We used ordinal logistic regression models with appropriate survey weights to assess exposures to violence and the three outcomes of interest.
Children and youth aged 13-24 years exposed to violence in childhood reported higher levels of adverse mental health effects, including mental distress, self-harm behaviours and suicidal ideation and attempts. The odds of reporting these outcomes increased as the number of violence types increased.
Understanding the risks based on different combinations of exposures to violence in Malawi can help identify populations at higher risk and optimise violence prevention strategies.
从抑郁症到诸如自残或自杀行为等更严重行为的心理健康问题，在青少年和青年中是一个严重问题。年轻人在生活中遭受暴力会增加其心理健康问题。本研究利用马拉维一项具有全国代表性的研究，考察了年轻人遭受暴力与心理健康问题之间的关系。
我们分析了来自马拉维具有全国代表性的《暴力侵害儿童调查》（2013年）的数据，以量化遭受暴力（身体暴力、性暴力和情感暴力）与13至24岁年轻人的心理困扰、自残行为、自杀意念及自杀未遂之间的关联。我们评估了针对儿童的暴力暴露与报告的男性和女性心理健康状况之间的关联。我们使用带有适当调查权重的有序逻辑回归模型来评估暴力暴露情况以及三个感兴趣的结果。
童年时期遭受暴力的13至24岁儿童和年轻人报告的不良心理健康影响水平更高，包括心理困扰、自残行为、自杀意念及自杀未遂。报告这些结果的几率随着暴力类型数量的增加而上升。
了解基于马拉维不同暴力暴露组合的风险，有助于识别高风险人群并优化暴力预防策略。
