Community Based Study of Mental Disorder in Children in Ambo Woreda Western Ethiopia
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Date
1995-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Mental health problems of chldren in Ethiopia is
not known. A survey was conducted in Ambo worecta,
western Ethiopia. Mothers of 3001 children aged 5-15
years were interviewed for their children mental status
using a WHO standardized screening instrument (RQC)
And both mothers and fathers (n=2223) wer e also
interviewed for their own mental status using a WHO
standardized screening instrument (SRQ). A psychiatrist
interviewed 196 children initially screened by the RQC
to evaluate the validity of RQC. The study showed that
a cut off point which maximi zed sensitivity (87 . 5%) and
specificity (65%) of the screening instrument (RQC) was
found to be at 0 / 1, that is one yes answer to any of
ten questions. The prevalence of the various mental
disorders using RQC at a cut off point (0/1) were
therefore estimated. Out of 3001 children, 534 (17.7%)
were found to have mental disorder. Males (19 . 2%) and
females (16.4%). Headache 332(11.1%) and Nervousness
123(4.1%) were the most frequently reported symptoms by
mothers. After adjusting for potential confounders age
of children was found to be associated with mental
disorder and that this association was statistically
significant. Maternal age, marital status and parental
psychopathology were also significantly associated with
mental disorder of their children. The findings show
that mental disorders in children in this population
are as common as elsewhere in developed and developing
countries . Mental health services in t his and other
communities need to be initiated as soon as possible.
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Keywords
Community Based