Department of Educational Psychology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
Faculty of Health, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
J Adolesc. 2023 Oct;95(7):1333-1347. doi: 10.1002/jad.12205. Epub 2023 Jun 19.
The association between family adversity and young people's mental health outcomes in communities that experience economic instability has not been well explored in the South African context. Furthermore, the overtime interaction between resilience factors, family adversity, and young people's psychological functioning in African settings, like South Africa, is under-investigated.
This study investigates the relationship between family adversity and conduct problems and depression at two-time points in a sample of youths in two South African communities stressed by their dependency on economically volatile oil and gas industries.
This article draws on longitudinal data generated by the Resilient Youth in Stressed Environments (RYSE) study in South Africa, which included 914 and 528 (wave 1 and 3) adolescents and emerging adults (14-27-year-olds; M age = 18.36 years) living in Secunda/eMbalenhle and Sasolburg/Zamdela. Participants were sampled at baseline (wave 1) and 18-24 months later (wave 3). They self-reported experience of community violence, family adversity, resilience-enabling resources, conduct difficulties, and depression symptoms. Regression analyses were used to examine the unadjusted and adjusted association of family adversity on conduct problem and depression.
About 60% of participants reported high family adversity. Regressions, however, revealed no association between family adversity and conduct problems and depression cross-sectionally and over time. Individual resilience, biological sex, and experience of victimization in the community, however, were associated with conduct difficulty while all three resilience factors were associated with decreased depression among participants.
Our study sheds light on the risk and protective factors for mental health outcomes of adolescents and youths who reside in volatile, turbulent communities and experience ongoing familial challenges. To effectively support the mental well-being of young individuals in such contexts, interventions must consider the potential ambivalence of the resilience factors they aim to strengthen.
在经济不稳定的社区中，家庭逆境与年轻人心理健康结果之间的关系在南非背景下尚未得到充分探讨。此外，在像南非这样的非洲环境中，韧性因素、家庭逆境和年轻人心理功能之间的过度时间相互作用还没有得到充分的研究。
本研究调查了家庭逆境与南非两个受经济波动的石油和天然气工业影响的社区中年轻人在两个时间点的行为问题和抑郁之间的关系。
本文借鉴了南非“处于压力环境中的韧性青年”（RYSE）研究的纵向数据，该研究包括 914 名和 528 名（第 1 波和第 3 波）青少年和新兴成年人（14-27 岁；M 年龄=18.36 岁），他们生活在塞孔达/埃姆巴伦赫勒和萨索尔堡/赞德赫拉。参与者在基线（第 1 波）和 18-24 个月后（第 3 波）进行了抽样。他们自我报告了社区暴力、家庭逆境、韧性增强资源、行为困难和抑郁症状的经历。回归分析用于检验家庭逆境与行为问题和抑郁之间的未调整和调整关联。
约 60%的参与者报告了高度的家庭逆境。然而，回归分析显示，家庭逆境与行为问题和抑郁在横截面上和随时间推移都没有关联。个体韧性、生物性别和在社区中受害的经历与行为困难有关，而所有三个韧性因素都与参与者的抑郁程度降低有关。
我们的研究揭示了居住在动荡、不稳定社区并经历持续家庭挑战的青少年和年轻人心理健康结果的风险和保护因素。为了有效地支持这些背景下年轻人的心理健康，干预措施必须考虑到他们旨在加强的韧性因素的潜在矛盾性。
