Trauma among Kenyan School Children in Urban and Rural Settings: PTSD Prevalence and Correlates

This study estimated the prevalence and correlates of PTSD in Kenyan school children during a period of widespread post-election violence. The UCLA PTSD Reaction Index was administered to 2482 primary and secondary school students ages 11–17 from rural and urban communities. A high proportion of school children had witnessed people being shot at, beat up or killed (46.9%) or had heard about the violent death or serious injury of a loved one (42.0%). Over one quarter (26.8%, 95% CI = 25.1% - 28.7%) met criteria for PTSD. Correlates of PTSD included living in a rural (vs urban) area (AOR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.41–2.11), attending primary (vs secondary) school (AOR = 2.25, 95% CI = 1.67–3.04) and being a girl (with girl as referent AOR = .70, 95% CI = .57–.86). We recommend training Kenyan teachers to recognize signs of emotional distress in school children and psychosocial counselors to adapt empirically-supported mental health interventions for delivery in primary and secondary school settings.