Abstract
This study aimed to assess the association of childhood trauma, stressful life events and HIV stigma with mental health in South African adolescents from the Cape Town Adolescent Antiretroviral Cohort (CTAAC). The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Life Events Questionnaire and the HIV Stigma Scale for South African Adolescents Living with HIV was used to assess childhood trauma, stressful life events and stigma in adolescents living with perinatally acquired HIV and healthy controls enrolled in the CTAAC. These measures were associated with mental health outcomes including the Beck-Youth Inventories, Child Behaviour Checklist, Columbian Impairment Scale, Childrens Motivation Scale, Conners Scale for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder using Pearson correlations and self-reported alcohol use, using Spearman-rank correlation. 63.7% of adolescents reported at least one childhood trauma on the CTQ. Significant associations were reported between CTQ measures and Beck-Youth Inventories. Emotional abuse was associated with anxiety, anger, depression and disruptive behaviour. Emotional neglect was associated with poor self-concept and disruptive behaviour. LEQ total score was significantly associated with Beck-Youth Inventories including anxiety, depression, anger and disruptive behaviour scales. HIV stigma was significantly associated with Beck-Youth Inventories including depression, anger and disruptive behaviour. Childhood trauma, stressful life events and HIV stigma in South African adolescents are associated with anxiety, depression, anger, disruptive-behaviour and poor self-concept. This study highlights the importance of enquiring about exposure to a variety of traumas, particularly those commonly experienced by South African adolescents. In addition, it is important to understand the impact of trauma exposure on each individuals mental health and functioning.
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Acknowledgements
We wish to thank the staff on the CTAAC neuropsychiatric sub-study for their work towards primary data collection. We would also like to give special thanks to all adolescents and their parents/caregivers who participated in the CTAAC neuropsychiatric sub-study.
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JH is the PI of this study. HJZ is the PI of the CTAAC study, for which the data was derived. JPF carried out the statistical analysis. TS wrote the article. The remaining authors helped conceive the study, reviewed and approved of the final article.
This paper has not been funded directly. Funding for CTAAC is provided by R01HD074051 and South African Medical Research Council (SA MRC). HJZ and DJS are supported by the SA MRC.
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Sevenoaks, T., Fouche, JP., Phillips, N. et al. Childhood Trauma and Mental Health in the Cape Town Adolescent Antiretroviral Cohort. Journ Child Adol Trauma 15, 353–363 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-021-00362-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-021-00362-0