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![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/f93d5df7-5c73-4273-9c64-b700a0dff20e.png\")
A depressed employee at work \/AI ILLUSTRATION<\/p>\n
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\nA depressed employee at work \/AI ILLUSTRATION<\/p>\n
One in
\nfive adolescents in Kenya has experienced four or more Adverse Childhood
\nExperiences (ACEs), including abuse, neglect, and family instability, placing
\nthem at significantly higher risk of depression, anxiety, and bullying.<\/p>\n
\u200bA study
\nled by the Shamiri Institute and the Brain and Mind Institute (BMI) at Aga Khan
\nUniversity has revealed alarming levels of childhood trauma among Kenyan
\nadolescents, raising red flags about a looming youth mental health crisis that
\nis partly linked to broken families due to harsh economic times.<\/p>\n
\u201cChildhood
\nadversity is a public health crisis that threatens the well-being and potential
\nof our entire generation,\u201d said Prof. Zul Merali, Founding director of the
\nBrain and Mind Institute.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough the need to elevate research-informed solutions that can help Kenyan children not
\nonly survive adversity but thrive despite it.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the report, 23.9
\nper cent of adolescents who experienced multiple ACEs showed moderate to severe
\nsymptoms of depression while 21.4 per cent showed similar levels of anxiety.<\/p>\n
Adolescents with only one
\nsurviving parent had 18 per cent higher adversity scores. Those struggling
\nacademically were 15 per cent more likely to have experienced ACEs.<\/p>\n
A strong link between
\nACEs and bullying was observed, especially among boys, highlighting
\ngender-specific vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n
Tom
\nOsborn, Founder and CEO of the Shamiri Institute, is emphasizing the urgency of
\nsystemic change.<\/p>\n
\u201cYoung
\npeople in Kenya are navigating enormous emotional burdens. As a society, we
\ncan\u2019t afford to look away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another report by Science
\nDirect shows that family poverty is indirectly and significantly associated
\nwith primary school-aged children\u2019s poor behavioral and socio-emotional
\noutcomes through caregiver functioning.<\/p>\n
According to the study, given
\nthat the middle childhood years are a critical developmental stage in building socio-emotional
\nskills, family-based interventions supporting family interactions or parental
\nmental health support may help reduce the negative impact.<\/p>\n
Households in the
\ncountry, just like elsewhere in the continent continue to feel the heat of a
\ndisrupted economy that was worsened by the aftermath of Covid-19 that saw many
\nbusinesses close and millions of rendered jobless.<\/p>\n
Counseling psychologist
\nMaryanne Wamae says that the number of people seeking her services has been on the rise in the past five years, couples seeking to mend fences, young people aged
\n17-25 and children aged 11-16 years topping the list.<\/p>\n
According to Wamae,
\neconomic disruption experienced in the past two decades is slowly manifesting in
\nfamilies, with children caught in the melee.<\/p>\n
Although
\nthere is no specific report that points out the major cause of dysfunctional
\nfamilies in Kenya, globally, money is widely known as one of the leading causes
\nof\u00a0divorce.<\/p>\n
For instance, it is estimated that financial problems contribute to 20-40 per cent of all
\ndivorces.<\/p>\n
That means
\nthat for every 10\u00a0marriages that end in divorce, four of them are because of money. Typically, around 41 per
\ncent of divorced\u00a0Gen Xers, along
\nwith 29 per cent of divorced Boomers state that the reason their marriages
\nended was due to financial disagreements.<\/p>\n
According to Agha Kahn University
\nHospital, domestic violence is one of the environmental factors that may
\nnot be physically directed at children within the family but have a direct
\nimpact on them. <\/p>\n
It adds that children who witness violence at home
\nexperience mental, emotional and social challenges that predispose them to
\nmental illness.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are likely to be victims of child abuse and or
\nperpetrators of violence later in their adulthood. The impact of domestic
\nviolence on children is likely to manifest in behavioral challenges, low school
\ngrades, criminal and antisocial behavior,\u2019\u2019 the study presented at the \u201cAdverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)<\/p>\n
The World Health Organisation estimates that 1 billion
\nchildren aged 12\u201317 have experienced violence of one kind or another, most of
\nwhich is perpetrated within the home environment.<\/p>\n
It is in this sense that children are often referred to as
\nsilent victims of violence and abuse.<\/p>\n
The
\nreport recommends the integration of ACE-10 screening into routine school health
\nservices, alongside the expansion of school-based mental health programmes.<\/p>\n
This,
\nexperts say will mark a significant shift in treating childhood adversity not
\njust as a health concern but also as a barrier to educational achievement and
\nlong-term well-being.<\/p>\n
Wangui
\nWanjuki, a youth mental health advocate, shared a moving personal testimony
\nabout the long-term effects of unaddressed childhood trauma, calling for more
\ninclusive, grounded policy approaches.<\/p>\n
\u201cI
\nexperienced ACEs in the form of physical abuse, gender-based violence and
\nparental alienation,\u201d Wanjuki said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is
\ncrucial not to create policies in isolation. We must involve those with lived
\nexperience to ensure that solutions are not just good on paper, but
\ntransformative in practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
As
\nKenya grapples with rising youth mental health concerns, the BMI\u2013Shamiri
\ncollaboration marks a pivotal step in catalyzing research-driven,
\ntrauma-informed interventions that are responsive to the real experiences of
\nyoung people.<\/p>\n
Experts
\nwarn that if the situation is not addressed, it is likely to explode into a
\nnational security issue as rebel youths confronted by harsh social economic
\nissues turn to crime and drug abuse to cope a day at a time.<\/p>\n
According to the report,
\nthe overall prevalence of different types of suicidal ideation was 22.6 per
\ncent, major depression was found in 20 per cent, and affectivity, psychosis and
\nstress were found in 10.4, 8.7 and 26 per cent, respectively.<\/p>\n
Female gender, major
\ndepression, stress, affectivity and psychosis and being in high school were
\nsignificant predictors of suicidal ideation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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