Anxiety, Depression and Resilience among War-Affected and Non-War- Affected Sudanese Female University Students: A Comparative Study

Alia Badri*, Rik Crutzen and H.W. Van den Borne

Objective: To investigate and compare mental health status between war-affected Darfuri and non-war-affected  Omdurmani  undergraduate  students  at  Ahfad  University  for  Women  in  Omdurman  city, Sudan.

Method:  A  cross-sectional  study  was  used  to  assess  and  compare  the  anxiety,  depression  (HSCL-25) and resilience scores (Resilience Scale) and related demographic variables for 116 Darfuri and 299 Omdurmani students.

Results: Overall  anxiety,  depression  and  resilience  scores  varied  minimally  between  Darfuri  and Omdurmani  students.  Depression  scores  were  negatively  related  with  resilience  scores,  but  not  with anxiety  scores.  Younger  participants  (15-20  years)  and  those  who  had  a  parent  deceased  were  more anxious, while those whose father was a blue-collar worker (indicating low socio-economic status) were more depressed, but also more resilient. Furthermore, participants whose tuition fees were paid by their parents (indicating a higher socio-economic status) scored lower on resilience.

Conclusion: This study provides evidence of considerably high anxiety and depression scores, and moderate resilience levels amongst the sample. The results are discussed with a view of assistance in the development of a comprehensive multidimensional psychosocial counselling intervention.

Keywords:

Published on: Oct 5, 2017 Pages: 49-54

Full Text PDF Full Text HTML DOI: 10.17352/2455-5460.000023
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