Community violence and mental health symptoms among adolescents in South Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Authors: Jameson, Stacey
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Violence -- Psychological aspects , Adolescent psychology , Community psychology , Mental health services
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/63868 , vital:73621
- Description: There is a global prevalence of youth exposure to community violence. This is notably pronounced in South Africa, where children and adolescents face elevated levels of violence. Existing systematic reviews have predominately focused on international contexts, leaving a gap that requires comprehensive analysis within the South African context to understand the situation in comparison to global trends. The objective of this study was to synthesise the available literature on adolescent exposure to community violence and its impact on mental health outcomes in South Africa. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of such exposure among South African adolescents, explore associated internalising and externalising mental health symptoms, and assess the extent of this relationship. A systematic search of electronic databases was conducted, encompassing studies published between 2010 and 2022. Eighteen studies focusing on adolescents aged 10 to 19 years, investigating exposure to community violence and mental health outcomes were included. Meta-analytical procedures revealed that South African adolescents face elevated levels of both witnessing and direct victimisation of community violence, accompanied by heightened mental health symptoms, particularly in depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. Although a moderate positive correlation between community violence exposure and depression was identified, statistical significance was not achieved. Subgroup analyses, to explore gender as a potential moderating factor was conducted. This study underscores the urgent need for targeted interventions and policy measures to address the impact of community violence on adolescent mental wellbeing in South Africa. These findings contribute to the existing literature by providing an understanding of the situation in the South African context compared to global estimates, offering recommendations for future research to inform more effective public health strategies. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Health Science, School of Behavioural & Lifestyle Sciences, 2024
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- Date Issued: 2024-04
The relationship between exposure to violence and moral development of adolescents
- Authors: Klopper, Ilana
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Children and violence -- South Africa , Violence in children -- Psychological aspects , Moral development -- Psychological aspects , Violence -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9862 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1526 , Children and violence -- South Africa , Violence in children -- Psychological aspects , Moral development -- Psychological aspects , Violence -- Psychological aspects
- Description: South Africa currently has one of the highest levels of crime in the world. The high prevalence of violence in South African culture has led to the increased exposure to violence of individuals of all ages. The South African Police Service annual report for 2008/2009 reported 48 732 crimes ranging from murder, attempted murder to sexual offences and common assault against children under the age of 18 years. In addition, young people between the ages from 12 to 22 are generally victimized at twice the adult rate and even higher for violent crimes. It is the belief of various theorists that exposure to violence can alter one’s cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes- the three core components that are essential to moral development. The role that exposure to violence has on the development of aggressive behavior has been thoroughly researched; however the implications that this exposure has on the moral development of adolescents remains vague. This study explored and described the relationship between exposure to violence and moral development amongst adolescent learners. A quantitative exploratory descriptive research design was employed and the participants were selected by means of non-probability, convenience sampling. The sample consisted of 53 participants at a coeducational high school in the Nelson Mandela Metropole. The demographic data of the participants was gathered through the administration of a biographical questionnaire. The participants’ exposure to violence was explored by using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire- South African Adaptation (HTQ-SAA), while their moral development was assessed by means of the Moral Judgment Test (MJT). The data was analysed using descriptive statistics and both the Pearson’s correlation coefficient and Chi square test was computed to draw inferences regarding the relationship between exposure to violence and moral development. The results of the study revealed that all of the participants were exposed to violence directly or indirectly on one or more occasion; however the frequency with which the participants were exposed to violence was lower than expected. The results of the MJT further indicated very low to low moral judgement competence scores for the majority of the sample. No significant correlation or association was found between the two constructs.
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- Date Issued: 2010