The mediating role of self-control on the relations between adverse childhood experiences and substance use among adolescents in Uganda.

Objective: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are established risk factors for undesirable consequences in adolescence and early adulthood, including substance use and a lack of self-control. Based on the Social Bonds Theory (SBT), this study aims to expand our knowledge of the pathways from ACEs and self-control to substance use in adolescence and early adulthood.

Methods: The extent to which self-control mediates the association between ACEs and substance use was examined in a cross-sectional survey of 358 adolescents and young adults ( = 234, 65.

Associations between trauma-related guilt, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, and problematic alcohol use.

Trauma-related guilt, or a belief that one should have felt, thought, or acted differently during a traumatic event in which someone's life or physical integrity was threatened, has been consistently associated with mental health disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Theories of trauma-related guilt suggest that some avoidant coping behaviors, such as problematic alcohol use, are crucial pathways connecting trauma-related guilt to PTSD but have not been thoroughly investigated. The present study uses data from a longitudinal cohort of veterans to examine two models: the first assessed problematic alcohol use as a mechanism linking trauma-related guilt and PTSD.

Barriers to treatment and care for depression among the youth in Uganda: The role of mental health literacy.

Background: Depression represents a significant mental health problem (MHP) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), especially among early adults. Nevertheless, most early adults with depression do not seek treatment. Failure to recognize depression and knowledge about mental health literacy (MHL) may contribute to poor help-seeking behavior.

Echoes of the past: prevalence and correlates of PTSD among formerly abducted youths in northern Uganda: findings from the WAYS study.

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has considerable and persistent effects on survivors of war, particularly in postconflict areas. Yet, evidence on what keeps survivors on the path of PTSD remains scarce.

Aims: The current study aimed to assess the prevalence and correlates of PTSD symptoms among the war-affected population in northern Uganda.

Prevalence, distribution and attributable risks of adverse childhood experiences in different family types: A survey of young adults in Botswana.

Background: Although adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are often associated with poor outcomes in adulthood, little is known about its distribution in various family types, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

Objective: We assessed the prevalence, distribution, and attributable risks of ACEs in different family types in early adults.

Methods: Using data from 483 young adults (18-25 years of age), we assessed the prevalence and distribution of ACEs and employed binary logistic regressions to quantify the attributable risk of ACEs in different family types: nuclear (reference), single-mother, separated/divorced, and extended family types.

The relationship between adverse childhood experiences and depression: A cross-sectional survey with university students in Botswana.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with severe life-long negative outcomes, including depression. Particularly in low- and middle-income countries, few studies have been conducted to assess the impact of ACEs.

Aim: To assess the influence of ACEs on depression among young adults.

Intervention targets for people living with HIV and depressive symptoms in Botswana.

The prevalence of HIV in Botswana is high. Many people living with HIV (PLWH) suffer from depressive symptoms and have inadequate coping skills. Most PLWH do not receive adequate psychological treatment.

Interpersonal Sensitivity as Mediator of the Relations Between War Experiences and Mental Illness in War-Affected Youth in Northern Uganda: Findings From the WAYS Study.

The pathways from war experiences to mental health problems are poorly understood. The current study aims to assess the role of interpersonal sensitivity in the relations between war experiences and mental health problems based on data from the ar-ffected outh urvey cohort study. The ar-ffected outh urvey is an ongoing research project of formerly abducted children in Northern Uganda assessing their war experiences and the risk and protective factors in the development of mental health problems.

Coping with post-war mental health problems among survivors of violence in Northern Uganda: Findings from the WAYS study.

Cognitive emotion regulation strategies and mental health problems were assessed in a sample of war-affected youth in Northern Uganda. Univariable and multivariable regression models were fitted to assess the influence of CERS on mental health problems. Maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies (e.

Cognitive emotion regulation strategies and mental health problems in war-affected youth in Northern Uganda: findings from the WAYS study.

Background: Cognitive emotion regulation strategies (CERS) have been shown to moderate the influence of War Experiences (WE) on mental health problems.

Aims: This study assessed the influence of WE and use of specific CERS on mental health problems among war-affected youth in Northern Uganda.

Methods: Five hundred and thirty-nine participants in an ongoing war-affected youth study (WAYS) were assessed by locally developed measures.

PTSD, mental illness, and care among survivors of sexual violence in Northern Uganda: Findings from the WAYS study.

Background: Previous studies have mainly considered war-affected youth as a homogenous group yet several subpopulations of war-affected youth, such as survivors of sexual violence, exist with unique mental health problems and treatment needs. This study aimed to assess posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), perceptions and meaning of mental illness, and access and barriers to mental health care among survivors of sexual violence.

Method: Data were collected from survivors of sexual violence during war (N = 181) who are participants in the longitudinal War-Affected Youth Survey (WAYS) study in Northern Uganda.

The influence of types of war experiences on conduct problems in war-affected youth in Northern Ugandan: Findings from the WAYS study.

Exposure to war is associated with poor psychosocial outcomes. Yet the effects of different types of war events on various psychosocial outcomes such as conduct problems remain unknown. This study aims to assess whether various war events differ in predicting conduct problems.

Validity of the Finnish Diabetes Risk Score for Detecting Undiagnosed Type 2 Diabetes among General Medical Outpatients in Botswana.

This was a cross-sectional study designed to assess the validity of the Finnish Diabetes Risk Score for detecting undiagnosed type 2 diabetes among general medical outpatients in Botswana. Participants aged ≥20 years without previously diagnosed diabetes were screened by (1) an 8-item Finnish diabetes risk assessment questionnaire and (2) Haemoglobin A1c test. Data from 291 participants were analyzed (74.

Prevalence and determinants of metabolic syndrome: a cross-sectional survey of general medical outpatient clinics using National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III criteria in Botswana.

Background: Low- and middle-income countries, including Botswana, are facing rising prevalence of obesity and obesity-related cardiometabolic complications. Very little information is known about clustering of cardiovascular risk factors in the outpatient setting during routine visits. We aimed to assess the prevalence and identify the determinants of metabolic syndrome among the general outpatients' attendances in Botswana.

Sexual violence and general functioning among formerly abducted girls in Northern Uganda: the mediating roles of stigma and community relations--the WAYS study.

Background: Although sexual violence in war is associated with long-term mental health problems, little is known about its association with general functioning and the factors that explain this association. This study aims to illuminate the path from sexual violence to poor functioning. The prevalence of sexual violence among formerly abducted girls in Northern Uganda was assessed as well as the extent to which stigma and community relations explain the association between sexual violence and general functioning.

The effects of sexual violence on psychosocial outcomes in formerly abducted girls in Northern Uganda: the WAYS study.

Background: The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of sexual violence on the odds of different psychosocial outcomes (depression, psychotic symptoms, somatic complaints, conduct problems, daily functioning, community relations, and stigma) among formerly abducted girls in Uganda.

Methods: Data from an on-going War-Affected Youth Study (WAYS) in Uganda was used to compute the prevalence of psychosocial problems (scores ≥ 75th percentile) among three categories of formerly abducted girls (1) no history of sexual violence without children, 2) a history of sexual violence without children, and 3) a history of sexual violence with children as a consequence) among 210 women (age 22.06, SD = 2.

The influence of different types of war experiences on depression and anxiety in a Ugandan cohort of war-affected youth: the WAYS study.

Background: War experiences (WE) are frequently associated with mental health problems. Whether different types of WE vary in predicting which problem, or how severe, in former child soldiers (FCS) remains unknown.

Methods: Using data from the first wave of an on-going longitudinal cohort study (the WAYS study), we investigated relations between types of WE and symptoms of depression/anxiety among FCS in Northern Uganda (N = 539, baseline age = 22.

War experiences, general functioning and barriers to care among former child soldiers in Northern Uganda: the WAYS study.

Background: Exposure to war is associated with considerable risks for long-term mental health problems (MHP) and poor functioning. Yet little is known about functioning and mental health service (MHS) use among former child soldiers (FCS). We assessed whether different categories of war experiences predict functioning and perceived need for, sources of and barriers to MHS among FCS.

Postwar environment and long-term mental health problems in former child soldiers in Northern Uganda: the WAYS study.

Background: War experiences (WE) and postwar environments (PWE) are associated with mental ill-health. The present study aims to investigate the pathways from WE and PWE to mental ill-health and to define opportunities for intervention through analysis of the war-affected youths study (WAYS) cohort study.

Method: WAYS is an ongoing study of a large cohort of former child soldiers being conducted in Uganda.

Cohort profile: mental health following extreme trauma in a northern Ugandan cohort of War-Affected Youth Study (The WAYS Study).

War experiences are associated with the risk of long-term mental health problems. The War-affected Youths (WAYS) Study comprises a cohort of 539 youths (61% female) aged between 18 to 25 (at baseline) randomly sampled from the population of war-affected youths in northern Uganda. The study aims to chart the trajectory of long-term mental health consequences of war and the roles of individual, family, and community contextual risk and protective factors in influencing the course of mental health using Social Ecology Model, thus, addressing both the individual and its social ecology.

Socioeconomic position predicts specialty mental health service use independent of clinical severity: the TRAILS study.

Objective: To investigate associations between different indices of family socioeconomic position (SEP) and the use of specialty mental health services (SMHS) and whether the associations exist after adjusting for severity of mental problems.

Method: Using data from a large longitudinal study of adolescents (N = 2,149; mean age = 13.6 years [SD = 0.

Torture against children in rebel captivity in Northern Uganda: physical and psychological effects and implications for clinical practice.

Background: Although torture in adults is well documented, studies that document its use against children, especially during war, are rare. This study documented the use of torture against children and its physical and psychological consequences during the war in Northern Uganda.

Methodology: Changes to the skin were examined by medical assistants, photographs taken, and allegations of torture verified in an interview and the case histories filed upon admission to the rehabilitation centres.

Life stressors as mediators of the relation between socioeconomic position and mental health problems in early adolescence: the TRAILS study.

Objective: Life stressors and family socioeconomic position have often been associated with mental health status. The aim of the present study is to contribute to the understanding of the pathways from low socioeconomic position and life stressors to mental problems.

Method: In a cross-sectional analysis using data from a longitudinal study of early adolescents (N = 2,149, 51% girls; mean age 13.