TY - JOUR
T1 - Association between stressful life events and depression, anxiety, and quality of life among urban adolescents and young adults in Latin America
AU - Diez-Canseco, Francisco
AU - Carbonel, Adriana
AU - Bernabe-Ortiz, Antonio
AU - Olivar, Natividad
AU - Gómez-Restrepo, Carlos
AU - Toyama, Mauricio
AU - Uribe-Restrepo, José Miguel
AU - Brusco, Luis Ignacio
AU - Hidalgo-Padilla, Liliana
AU - Ramirez-Meneses, Daniela
AU - Carbonetti, Fernando Luis
AU - Ariza-Salazar, Karen
AU - Sureshkumar, Diliniya Stanislaus
AU - Fung, Catherine
AU - Priebe, Stefan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2024 Diez-Canseco, Carbonel, Bernabe-Ortiz, Olivar, Gómez-Restrepo, Toyama, Uribe-Restrepo, Brusco, Hidalgo-Padilla, Ramirez-Meneses, Carbonetti, Ariza-Salazar, Sureshkumar, Fung and Priebe.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Background: Latin American youth have a high prevalence of mental health disorders and face major socioeconomic and public safety problems. This study assesses the association between stressful life events (SLEs) and depression, anxiety, and quality of life among adolescents and young adults from deprived neighbourhoods of Latin America. Methods: The sample consisted of 2,402 participants, between adolescents (15–16 years) and young adults (20–24 years), from Bogotá (Colombia), Buenos Aires (Argentina), and Lima (Peru), assessed in 2021–2022 and recruited in education and community settings and social media. We evaluated the most frequent recent and distant SLEs (occurred in the previous year and more than a year ago, respectively), the relationship between SLEs and severity of depression (PHQ-8), anxiety (GAD-7), and quality of life (MANSA), and we tested for differences by gender and age group. Results: The most common recent and distant SLEs were related to public safety issues and financial distress. Accidents and school suspensions were more frequent among men, and sexual harassment and bullying among women. Every additional reported recent SLE increased the odds of mild, moderate, and severe depression (18, 17, and 25%, respectively) and anxiety (10, 17, and 21%, respectively) symptoms. Similar trends were found with distant SLEs and depression (8, 9, and 11% for mild, moderate, and severe symptoms, respectively) and anxiety (9, 11, and 12%, respectively). Furthermore, a higher number of recent and distant SLEs were associated with lower quality of life (β = −0.05, p < 0.001, 95% CI [−0.06, −0.04] and β = −0.04, p < 0.001, 95% CI [−0.05, −0.03], respectively). The relationship between mental distress and quality of life of recent SLEs seems stronger than the one from distant SLEs, and recent SLEs may have a higher impact on adolescents’ mental health compared with young adults. Conclusion: Both recent and distant SLEs are related to mental distress and quality of life. Policies and programmes should aim to enhance public and health safety, as well as improve individual, family, and community protective factors that could mitigate the effect of SLEs on Latin American youth.
AB - Background: Latin American youth have a high prevalence of mental health disorders and face major socioeconomic and public safety problems. This study assesses the association between stressful life events (SLEs) and depression, anxiety, and quality of life among adolescents and young adults from deprived neighbourhoods of Latin America. Methods: The sample consisted of 2,402 participants, between adolescents (15–16 years) and young adults (20–24 years), from Bogotá (Colombia), Buenos Aires (Argentina), and Lima (Peru), assessed in 2021–2022 and recruited in education and community settings and social media. We evaluated the most frequent recent and distant SLEs (occurred in the previous year and more than a year ago, respectively), the relationship between SLEs and severity of depression (PHQ-8), anxiety (GAD-7), and quality of life (MANSA), and we tested for differences by gender and age group. Results: The most common recent and distant SLEs were related to public safety issues and financial distress. Accidents and school suspensions were more frequent among men, and sexual harassment and bullying among women. Every additional reported recent SLE increased the odds of mild, moderate, and severe depression (18, 17, and 25%, respectively) and anxiety (10, 17, and 21%, respectively) symptoms. Similar trends were found with distant SLEs and depression (8, 9, and 11% for mild, moderate, and severe symptoms, respectively) and anxiety (9, 11, and 12%, respectively). Furthermore, a higher number of recent and distant SLEs were associated with lower quality of life (β = −0.05, p < 0.001, 95% CI [−0.06, −0.04] and β = −0.04, p < 0.001, 95% CI [−0.05, −0.03], respectively). The relationship between mental distress and quality of life of recent SLEs seems stronger than the one from distant SLEs, and recent SLEs may have a higher impact on adolescents’ mental health compared with young adults. Conclusion: Both recent and distant SLEs are related to mental distress and quality of life. Policies and programmes should aim to enhance public and health safety, as well as improve individual, family, and community protective factors that could mitigate the effect of SLEs on Latin American youth.
KW - Latin America
KW - anxiety
KW - depression
KW - quality of life
KW - stressful life events
KW - youth
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85210090305&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1466378
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1466378
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85210090305
SN - 1664-1078
VL - 15
JO - Frontiers in Psychology
JF - Frontiers in Psychology
M1 - 1466378
ER -