Association between remembering difficulty and anxiety and depression among children in Ghana

Dziwornu, Emmanuel;Dey, Nutifafa Eugene Yaw;Owusu Ansah, Kenneth;Arthur-Holmes, Francis;Duah, Henry Ofori;Amoah, Padmore Adusei;Agbadi, Pascal

Pascal Agbadi

Abstract

Anxiety and depression co-occur or occur sequentially among children, sometimes from the same or similar factors (Garber and Weersing, 2010). These conditions, common among children, are often unnoticeable, and could be a precursor for a full-blown mental health problem in the future (Al-biltagi and Sarhan, 2016; Ashford et al., 2008; Costello et al., 2003; 2005). In Ghana, these conditions are less recognized by parents, even though about 1.31% and 1% prevalence of depression and anxiety, respectively, have been reported among Ghanaian children (Kusi-Mensah et al., 2019). The difficulty in children expressing their feelings makes it imperative for parents to do so on their behalf (Lagattuta et al., 2012; López-pérez and Wilson, 2015). However, the appreciation of childhood mental health is generally poor among parents (Lagattuta et al., 2012), which makes it difficult to observe the link between mental health and associated factors among children in Ghana. Studies have identified several factors associated with child anxiety and depression. For example, low socioeconomic status (Capistrano et al., 2016; Wadsworth and Achenbach, 2005) and stressful life experiences (Cole et al., 2006; Eisenbarth et al., 2019) have been linked to psychopathology in early life. Other factors include parental psychopathology, single parenting, and poor school results (Leve et al., 2005; Mesman and Koot, 2000; Ormel et al., 2005), corporal punishment (Ferguson, 2013), prenatal drug exposure, and child's cognitive ability problems such as memory problems or remembering difficulties (Leech et al., 2006).

Journal

Journal of Affective Disorders Reports

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Journal of Affective Disorders Reports

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2666-9153

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Elsevier

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DOI

10.1016/j.jadr.2021.100212