Victimization and PTSD in Ugandan Youth

Background: Little is known about post-traumatic stress (PTSD) prevalence rates in community samples. This is especially true for the African continent where child-soldiers, HIV/AIDS affected and orphans have been the target for PTSD prevalence studies. Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate the indirect and direct exposure to 20 potentially traumatic events and its relation with PTSD in a Ugandan sample of senior 3rd year students and to perform cross-cultural comparisons with previous studies examining this age group. Socio-economic status, coping styles, negative affect, and somatization are further examined. Method: A convenience sample of 408 senior secondary school students, from eight schools, across three major towns, Kampala, Mbarara, and Jinja, were selected. The Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) was used to establish PTSD prevalence rates, The Coping Style Questionnaire (CSQ) was used to assess coping styles, and the Trauma Symptom Checklist (TSC) were used to measure negative affect and somatization. Results: The subjects had been exposed to a mean of 6.6 direct events and a mean of 7.2 indirect events. The estimated prevalence rate of PTSD was 37.7% and a further 28.2% reached a subclinical level, missing one symptom to have the full diagnosis. Variables related to a PTSD diagnosis were female gender, number of directly experienced events, emotional coping, negative affect, and somatization. Conclusions: Ugandan youth have been exposed to significantly more potentially traumatic events and negative life events than European youth, and subsequently PTSD prevalence rates are higher. In addition, fewer gender differences are found in the Ugandan sample compared to the European samples.