Abstract
Background: Adolescence is characterised by drastic social, emotional, physiological and behavioural changes. During this stage, adolescents embark on the journey of self-discovery, give new meanings to their experiences and ask who they really are and what they want in life. Adolescents also face multiple stressors, some even violent, which, coupled with intensive developmental changes, make them vulnerable to mental health problems such as depression or anxiety.
This dissertation answers related questions in two groups of adolescents in an African context: How do young adult Liberian refugees understand and attribute meaning to their war experiences and the subjective impacts on their lives, and how do they construct their future prospects? How is exposure to stressful life events (SLEs) and violent experiences associated with Ghanaian adolescents’ mental health problems? Do the optimal social relationships, emotional intelligence (EI) and cognitive skills (CS) of Ghanaian adolescents’ protect their mental health from the exposure?
Method: Two data sets were collected. First, qualitative data were collected from 13 Liberian young adult refugees (25-35 years) living in a camp in the Central Region of Ghana. Using semi-structured interviews, the data were gathered based on their experiences during the war, its impacts, life as a refugee and their future orientation. A phenomenological approach was applied to categorise the interview transcript into themes and subthemes. Second, quantitative data were collected from 415 Ghanaian secondary school students (14-17 years; 71% girls). A self-report questionnaire covered SLEs, violent experiences, mental health problems including depression and psychological distress, social relations, EI and cognitive skills. Structural equation model and regression analysis were used for the quantitative data.
Results: The qualitative findings yielded five main themes of war experience, all highly negative involving pain and humiliation, loss of a close relationship, horrific scenes, threats to life and fleeing for one’s life. Regarding the perceived meanings and impact of war, six main themes were identified. Three of the themes were negative in their content: vivid horrific memories, deprivation of age-appropriate opportunities and self-harm and destructive behaviour, and three themes were positive in nature: increased awareness of life, compassion for life and identification with those suffering. Regarding the future orientation of the young adults, the findings revealed three main themes. Two of the three themes were positive: all that does not kill strengthens and passion to contribute to a flourishing nation. Finally, the third theme, down in the mouth, illustrates a failure to reconstruct war-shattered lives.
The results of the quantitative data revealed that a high prevalence of everyday SLEs, but not violent experiences, was associated with increased levels of depressive symptoms and psychological distress. With regards to social relations, good siblingship emerged as a significant protector, as SLEs were not associated with high depressive symptoms among adolescents who enjoyed warm and loving siblingships. Higher EI and CS could not protect adolescent’s mental health from the adverse effects of SLEs or violence. However, a direct effect was found between a high level of EI and CS and increased mental health problems.
Conclusion: The Liberian young adults’ understanding of their childhood war experiences revealed meanings that were not only difficult and traumatic but also empowering and positive. These results are important and call for practitioners, policymakers and researchers to include the war survivors in reconstructing postconflict societies and peacebuilding. Warm and supportive sibling relationships proved to be protective for Ghanaian adolescents’ mental health, but emotional CS did not play a similar protective role. Future research should clarify the specific and unique factors and processes in African culture that can protect young people’s mental health.
This dissertation answers related questions in two groups of adolescents in an African context: How do young adult Liberian refugees understand and attribute meaning to their war experiences and the subjective impacts on their lives, and how do they construct their future prospects? How is exposure to stressful life events (SLEs) and violent experiences associated with Ghanaian adolescents’ mental health problems? Do the optimal social relationships, emotional intelligence (EI) and cognitive skills (CS) of Ghanaian adolescents’ protect their mental health from the exposure?
Method: Two data sets were collected. First, qualitative data were collected from 13 Liberian young adult refugees (25-35 years) living in a camp in the Central Region of Ghana. Using semi-structured interviews, the data were gathered based on their experiences during the war, its impacts, life as a refugee and their future orientation. A phenomenological approach was applied to categorise the interview transcript into themes and subthemes. Second, quantitative data were collected from 415 Ghanaian secondary school students (14-17 years; 71% girls). A self-report questionnaire covered SLEs, violent experiences, mental health problems including depression and psychological distress, social relations, EI and cognitive skills. Structural equation model and regression analysis were used for the quantitative data.
Results: The qualitative findings yielded five main themes of war experience, all highly negative involving pain and humiliation, loss of a close relationship, horrific scenes, threats to life and fleeing for one’s life. Regarding the perceived meanings and impact of war, six main themes were identified. Three of the themes were negative in their content: vivid horrific memories, deprivation of age-appropriate opportunities and self-harm and destructive behaviour, and three themes were positive in nature: increased awareness of life, compassion for life and identification with those suffering. Regarding the future orientation of the young adults, the findings revealed three main themes. Two of the three themes were positive: all that does not kill strengthens and passion to contribute to a flourishing nation. Finally, the third theme, down in the mouth, illustrates a failure to reconstruct war-shattered lives.
The results of the quantitative data revealed that a high prevalence of everyday SLEs, but not violent experiences, was associated with increased levels of depressive symptoms and psychological distress. With regards to social relations, good siblingship emerged as a significant protector, as SLEs were not associated with high depressive symptoms among adolescents who enjoyed warm and loving siblingships. Higher EI and CS could not protect adolescent’s mental health from the adverse effects of SLEs or violence. However, a direct effect was found between a high level of EI and CS and increased mental health problems.
Conclusion: The Liberian young adults’ understanding of their childhood war experiences revealed meanings that were not only difficult and traumatic but also empowering and positive. These results are important and call for practitioners, policymakers and researchers to include the war survivors in reconstructing postconflict societies and peacebuilding. Warm and supportive sibling relationships proved to be protective for Ghanaian adolescents’ mental health, but emotional CS did not play a similar protective role. Future research should clarify the specific and unique factors and processes in African culture that can protect young people’s mental health.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | Tampere |
| Publisher | Tampere University |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-952-03-2209-0 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-952-03-2208-3 |
| Publication status | Published - 2022 |
| Publication type | G5 Doctoral dissertation (articles) |
Publication series
| Name | Tampere University Dissertations - Tampereen yliopiston väitöskirjat |
|---|---|
| Volume | 520 |
| ISSN (Print) | 2489-9860 |
| ISSN (Electronic) | 2490-0028 |
