Title: Childhood trauma and mental health in the Cape Town adolescent antiretroviral cohort

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the association of childhood trauma, stressful life events and HIV stigma with mental health in South African adolescents from the Cape Town Adolescent Antiretroviral Cohort. Method: The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Life Events Questionnaire and the HIV Stigma Scale for South African Adolescents Living with HIV was used to assess childhood trauma, stressful life events and stigma in adolescents living with perinatally acquired HIV and healthy controls enrolled in the CTAAC. These measures were associated with mental health outcomes including the Beck-Youth Inventories, Child Behaviour Checklist , Columbian Impairment Scale , Childrens Motivation Scale , Conners Scale for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder using Pearson correlations and self-reported alcohol use, using Spearman-rank correlation. Results: 63.7% of adolescents reported at least one childhood trauma on the CTQ. Significant associations were reported between CTQ measures and Beck-Youth Inventories. Emotional abuse was associated with anxiety, anger, depression and disruptive behaviour . Emotional neglect was associated with poor self-concept and disruptive behaviour . LEQ total score was significantly associated with Beck-Youth Inventories including anxiety, depression, anger and disruptive behaviour scales . HIV stigma was significantly associated with Beck-Youth Inventories including depression, anger and disruptive behaviour . Conclusion: Childhood trauma, stressful life events and HIV stigma in South African adolescents are associated with anxiety, depression, anger, disruptive-behaviour and poor self-concept. This study highlights the importance of enquiring about exposure to a variety of traumas, particularly those commonly experienced by South African adolescents. In addition, it is important to understand the impact of trauma exposure on each individuals mental health and functioning.

Biography

My name is Tatum Sevenoaks. I am research assistant in the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health at The University of Cape Town, South Africa. I completed a BSc Honours in Pharmacology at Newcastle University in the UK and a MSc in Neuroscience at The University of Cape Town. As a research assistant I have worked alongside Prof Jacqueline Hoare, the principal investigator of the Cape Town Adolescent Antiretroviral Cohort study. The CTAAC study aims to investigate markers of chronic disease progression in perinatally HIV-infected adolescents by assessing neurocognitive function, mental health and neuroimaging longitudinally over a 3 year period.