Title Mental health, quality of life and violence exposure in low-socioeconomic status children and adolescents of guatemala
Authors COMPANY CÓRDOBA, ROSALBA, Gómez-Baya D. , López-Gaviño F. , IBAÑEZ ALFONSO, JOAQUÍN ALEJANDRO
External publication No
Means International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Scope Article
Nature Científica
JCR Quartile 1
SJR Quartile 2
JCR Impact 3.39
SJR Impact 0.747
Web https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85092910383&doi=10.3390%2fijerph17207620&partnerID=40&md5=e7f149ca04a1624a8957ad004cd73df1
Publication date 19/10/2020
ISI 000585579700001
Scopus Id 2-s2.0-85092910383
DOI 10.3390/ijerph17207620
Abstract Growing up in vulnerable conditions has an impact on children and adolescents’ mental health and well-being outcomes. However, this evidence has rarely been obtained in middle and low-income countries like Guatemala, where food insecurity and exposure to violence frequently threaten childhood development. The aim of this study was to analyse the relations that sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors have with psychological adjustment of low-socioeconomic status (SES) Guatemalan children and adolescents, and how these relations were mediated by food insecurity and exposure to violence. A total of 185 participants (50.8% girls; aged between 6 to 17, M = 11.82, SD = 3.7) from three vulnerable schools located in rural and urban areas of Guatemala were assessed. The results indicated that exposure to violence significantly moderates the effect of sociodemographic and socioeconomic variables in measures of depression, anxiety and health-related quality of life. Adolescents more exposed to violence reported higher levels of depression and anxiety, as well as lower levels of health-related quality of life. In contrast, food insecurity did not seem to influence psychological adjustment outcomes in this low-SES sample. These findings highlight the relevance of exposure to violence for mental health and well-being, and is a factor that should be considered when designing public health policies to promote children and adolescents’ welfare. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Keywords child health; food security; mental disorder; poverty; public health; quality of life; socioeconomic status; violence; young population; Guatemala [Central America]; Guatemala [Guatemala (NTN)]
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