Poverty, Social Change, and Shifting Expectations: The Makings of Mental Health Disorders Among Ethiopian Adolescents

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Poverty, social change, and shifting expectations: The makings of mental health disorders among Ethiopian adolescents Due to the impacts of economic and cultural globalization, young people throughout the world are experiencing an unprecedented exposure to new possibilities for living. For many youth this exposure may lead to new expectations and aspirations for their future. However, for low-income youth in developing countries, economic realities may prevent them from attaining their aspirations. These same aspirations may also create inter-generational conflict as the values of young people differ from established social norms. Researchers, Dr. Craig Haldey and Dr. Daniel Mains, will study the impact that these "mismatches" have on youth's lives and pyschosocial health, and how this relationship is modified by social, cultural, and economic factors. They will carry out the research in Ethiopia where the majority of the population is young and high levels of poverty act as barriers to the fulfillment aspirations. The investigators will rely on qualitative ethnographic data collection methods and social survey techniques. The non-survey methods will include unstructured interviews, free listing, and group discussions and will be used to elicit locally and culturally appropriate conceptions of a successful life and important milestones from youth and adults. Youth and adults will then be asked to rank the relative importance of elements of a successful life. The most important elements and those that are collectively shared will be integrated into a survey that will be administered to a population-based sample of nearly 2000 youth (15-19 y). For each element, youth will respond how important they think the item is to a successful life, whether they have achieved that item, and their perceived likelihood of every achieving it. The mental health, economic status, and social support networks of youth will also be measured through the survey. Through this survey the investigators can assess the mental health impact of failure or inability to achieve culturally agreed upon milestones. The research is important because it integrates a range of methodologies. The researchers use social science to address several emerging issues: globalization, mental health, and current demographic realities in many developing countries.