Exposure to violence, adverse life events and the mental health of adolescent girls in Nairobi slums

BMC Women's Health

Table 1 Percentage distribution of adolescent girls by exposure to violence, perception of neighborhood safety and adverse life events, Kibera

Variables	Physical or sexual violence	Neighborhood not safe	Any adverse event in the past year	Overall
Variables	(%)	(%)	(%)	N	%
Age of the respondent
12–14	16.3	67.4	44.9	178	8.5
15–17	22.5	67.2	47.3	1549	73.6
18–19	23.7	58.5	44.7	472	17.9
Current school attendance
Yes	21.7	66.7	45.9	1,678	79.7
No	24.3	61.8	49.3	428	20.3
Highest level of education
No formal education	27.3	72.7	45.5	11	0.5
Primary	18.5	69.1	48.4	314	15.4
Secondary	22.6	65.3	45.8	1716	84.1
Have worked to earn income in the past year
Yes	33.2	54.7	54.7	289	13.7
No	20.5	67.7	45.3	1817	86.3
Marital status
Married/cohabiting	38.9	63.9	38.9	36	1.7
Separated/divorced	36.0	48.0	48.0	25	1.2
Never married	21.4	66.1	46.7	2018	97.1
Living arrangement
With parents/caretakers at home	24.4	65.6	47.5	749	35.6
Boarding at school	19.1	67.8	44.8	886	42.1
Elsewhere (with relatives, alone, missing)	24.6	62.0	48.4	471	22.3
Respondent’s religion
Catholic	20.0	67.1	47.1	490	23.3
Protestant	23.5	65.3	47.6	1,365	64.8
Muslim and other	17.9	67.0	37.3	212	10.1
Other (traditional or no religion)	28.2	56.4	56.4	39	1.9
Depressive symptoms
None	18.3	67.9	45.8	1826	86.7
Mild	46.3	51.2	50.8	244	11.6
Moderate	60.7	50.0	57.1	28	1.3
Severe	50.0	62.5	62.5	8	0.4
Total (%, n)	22.2 (468)	65.7 (1384)	46.6 (981)	2106	100

ISSN: 1472-6874