The perceived impact of climate change on mental health and suicidality in Kenyan high school students
Abstract Background Climate change has psychological impacts but most of the attention has been focused on the physical impact. This study was aimed at determining the association of climate change with adolescent mental health and suicidality as reported by Kenyan high school students. Methods This...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2024-02-01
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| Series: | BMC Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-024-05568-8 |
| _version_ | 1797273697775517696 |
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| author | David M. Ndetei Danuta Wasserman Victoria Mutiso Jenelle R. Shanley Christine Musyimi Pascalyne Nyamai Timothy Munyua Monica H. Swahn John R. Weisz Tom L. Osborn Kamaldeep Bhui Natalie E. Johnson Panu Pihkala Peter Memiah Sonja Gilbert Afzal Javed Andre Sourander |
| author_facet | David M. Ndetei Danuta Wasserman Victoria Mutiso Jenelle R. Shanley Christine Musyimi Pascalyne Nyamai Timothy Munyua Monica H. Swahn John R. Weisz Tom L. Osborn Kamaldeep Bhui Natalie E. Johnson Panu Pihkala Peter Memiah Sonja Gilbert Afzal Javed Andre Sourander |
| author_sort | David M. Ndetei |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Climate change has psychological impacts but most of the attention has been focused on the physical impact. This study was aimed at determining the association of climate change with adolescent mental health and suicidality as reported by Kenyan high school students. Methods This was a cross sectional study with a sample size of 2,652. The participants were high school students selected from 10 schools in 3 regions of Kenya. A questionnaire was used to assess climate change experiences, mental health problems, and suicidality of the youth. Data were analyzed descriptively and with logistic regression to determine various associations of the different variables and the predictors of the various scores of SDQ and suicidality at 95% CI. Results Significant differences were observed between gender and two of the threats of climate change – worry and being afraid as subjectively experienced by the participants. Females were more worried and afraid of climate change than males. On univariate and multivariate logistic regression, we found that various experiences of climate change were significantly associated with various scores of SDQ and much fewer of the experiences predicted SDQ scores. The same pattern was reflected in suicidality. Conclusion Climate change appears to be associated with mental health concerns and suicidality according to Kenyan high school students’ reports with gender differences in some associations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:47:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bfcd76d34c1042ce948bfa078fd48f7a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-244X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:47:59Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-bfcd76d34c1042ce948bfa078fd48f7a2024-03-05T19:53:44ZengBMCBMC Psychiatry1471-244X2024-02-0124111610.1186/s12888-024-05568-8The perceived impact of climate change on mental health and suicidality in Kenyan high school studentsDavid M. Ndetei0Danuta Wasserman1Victoria Mutiso2Jenelle R. Shanley3Christine Musyimi4Pascalyne Nyamai5Timothy Munyua6Monica H. Swahn7John R. Weisz8Tom L. Osborn9Kamaldeep Bhui10Natalie E. Johnson11Panu Pihkala12Peter Memiah13Sonja Gilbert14Afzal Javed15Andre Sourander16Africa Mental Health Research and Training Foundation, Mawensi GardenKarolinska InstituteAfrica Mental Health Research and Training Foundation, Mawensi GardenPacific UniversityAfrica Mental Health Research and Training Foundation, Mawensi GardenAfrica Mental Health Research and Training Foundation, Mawensi GardenAfrica Mental Health Research and Training Foundation, Mawensi GardenDepartment of Health Promotion and Physical Education, Wellstar College of Health and Human Services, Kennesaw State UniversityDepartment of Psychology, Harvard UniversityShamiri InstituteUniversity of OxfordShamiri InstituteFaculty of Theology, University of HelsinkiUniversity of MarylandResearch Centre for Child Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of TurkuWorld Psychiatric AssociationResearch Centre for Child Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of TurkuAbstract Background Climate change has psychological impacts but most of the attention has been focused on the physical impact. This study was aimed at determining the association of climate change with adolescent mental health and suicidality as reported by Kenyan high school students. Methods This was a cross sectional study with a sample size of 2,652. The participants were high school students selected from 10 schools in 3 regions of Kenya. A questionnaire was used to assess climate change experiences, mental health problems, and suicidality of the youth. Data were analyzed descriptively and with logistic regression to determine various associations of the different variables and the predictors of the various scores of SDQ and suicidality at 95% CI. Results Significant differences were observed between gender and two of the threats of climate change – worry and being afraid as subjectively experienced by the participants. Females were more worried and afraid of climate change than males. On univariate and multivariate logistic regression, we found that various experiences of climate change were significantly associated with various scores of SDQ and much fewer of the experiences predicted SDQ scores. The same pattern was reflected in suicidality. Conclusion Climate change appears to be associated with mental health concerns and suicidality according to Kenyan high school students’ reports with gender differences in some associations.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-024-05568-8Climate changeMental healthSuicidalityYouthHigh-school studentsSurvey |
| spellingShingle | David M. Ndetei Danuta Wasserman Victoria Mutiso Jenelle R. Shanley Christine Musyimi Pascalyne Nyamai Timothy Munyua Monica H. Swahn John R. Weisz Tom L. Osborn Kamaldeep Bhui Natalie E. Johnson Panu Pihkala Peter Memiah Sonja Gilbert Afzal Javed Andre Sourander The perceived impact of climate change on mental health and suicidality in Kenyan high school students BMC Psychiatry Climate change Mental health Suicidality Youth High-school students Survey |
| title | The perceived impact of climate change on mental health and suicidality in Kenyan high school students |
| title_full | The perceived impact of climate change on mental health and suicidality in Kenyan high school students |
| title_fullStr | The perceived impact of climate change on mental health and suicidality in Kenyan high school students |
| title_full_unstemmed | The perceived impact of climate change on mental health and suicidality in Kenyan high school students |
| title_short | The perceived impact of climate change on mental health and suicidality in Kenyan high school students |
| title_sort | perceived impact of climate change on mental health and suicidality in kenyan high school students |
| topic | Climate change Mental health Suicidality Youth High-school students Survey |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-024-05568-8 |
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