Evaluating Mental Health Screening Tools for South African Adolescent Girls and Young Women
Study Highlights the Importance of Culturally Adapted Assessments for Depression, Anxiety, and PTSD
A recent study co-authored by CDIS researchers, including Dr. Erin Emerson and Dr. Geri Donenberg, has been published in the Journal of Affective Disorders. The research focuses on assessing the psychometric properties of mental health screening tools among South African adolescent girls and young women (AGYW).
Mental health disorders often emerge during adolescence, yet widely used screening tools lack validation for AGYW in resource-limited settings like sub-Saharan Africa. This study evaluated the PHQ-9 for depression, GAD-7 for anxiety, and PC-PTSD-5 for post-traumatic stress disorder among South African adolescents aged 15 to 19.
Findings showed that while the GAD-7 demonstrated strong reliability, the PHQ-9 had inconsistencies in item responses, and the PC-PTSD-5 faced challenges with interpretation, particularly regarding the "avoidance" item. These results emphasize the need for culturally and linguistically adapted screening tools to improve early identification and intervention for AGYW’s mental health.
