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The prevalence of mental disorders among upper primary school children in Kenya

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and correlates of mental disorders among upper primary school children in grades five through seven in Kenya.

Methods

The Youth Self Report (YSR) instrument was adapted for use in Kenyan schools and administered to 2267 school children in grades five through seven from 23 randomly selected schools. We estimated the prevalence of DSM-IV mental disorders, and used logistic regression analyses to examine the socio-demographic factors associated with each disorder.

Results

The prevalence of any mental disorder among Kenyan school children was 37.7 % (95 % CI = 35.7–39.7 %). Somatic complaints were the most prevalent (29.6 %, 95 % CI = 27.8–31.5 %), followed by affective disorders (14.1 %, 95 % CI = 12.7–15.6 %) and conduct disorder (12.5 %, 95 % CI = 11.2–13.9). The presence of one or more comorbid mental disorder was seen among 18.2 % (95 % CI = 16.6–19.8 %) of children. Male sex, living in a peri-urban vs. rural area, being held back in school, having divorced or separated parents, and having an employed mother were associated with an increased likelihood of having most of the mental disorders examined, whereas increasing age was associated with a reduced likelihood.

Conclusions

We observed a high prevalence of mental disorders among school children in Kenya. If not detected early, these disorders may interfere with children’s psychological, social, and educational development. Our findings highlight the importance of implementing screening measures in schools that can detect single and multiple disorders in order to improve the mental health and well-being of the next generation.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a Grant (#0083-04) from Grand Challenges Canada under Global Mental Health. It is funded by Government of Canada and is dedicated to supporting bold ideas with big impact in global health. Kelly Anderson is supported by a Postdoctoral Fellowship Award from Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR#274885).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Africa Mental Health Foundation, Mawensi Road, Off Elgon Road, Mawensi Garden, Nairobi, Kenya

    David Musyimi Ndetei, Victoria Mutiso, Christine Musyimi & Abednego Musau

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya

    David Musyimi Ndetei

  3. Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Juja, Kenya

    Aggrey G. Mokaya

  4. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, ON, Canada

    Kelly K. Anderson & Kwame McKenzie

  5. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada

    Kelly K. Anderson

  6. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Kwame McKenzie

Authors
  1. David Musyimi Ndetei
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  2. Victoria Mutiso
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  3. Christine Musyimi
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  4. Aggrey G. Mokaya
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  5. Kelly K. Anderson
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  6. Kwame McKenzie
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  7. Abednego Musau
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Correspondence to David Musyimi Ndetei.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no competing interests with respect to the publication of this manuscript.

Ethical standards

Ethical approval was obtained from the Research Ethics Boards at the Kenya Medical Research Institute and at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. All persons gave their informed consent prior to their inclusion in the study. The study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments and in line with the provisions of Chapter 4 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010.

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Appendix

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Ndetei, D.M., Mutiso, V., Musyimi, C. et al. The prevalence of mental disorders among upper primary school children in Kenya. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 51, 63–71 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-015-1132-0

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