RT Journal Article
T1 Mental Health, Quality of Life and Violence Exposure in Low-Socioeconomic Status Children and Adolescents of Guatemala
A1 Company Córdoba, Rosalba
A1 Gómez Baya, Diego
A1 López Gaviño, Francisca
A1 Ibáñez Alfonso, Joaquín A.
AB Growing up in vulnerable conditions has an impact on children and adolescents’mental health and well-being outcomes. However, this evidence has rarely been obtainedin middle and low-income countries like Guatemala, where food insecurity and exposure toviolence frequently threaten childhood development. The aim of this study was to analyse therelations that sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors have with psychological adjustment oflow-socioeconomic status (SES) Guatemalan children and adolescents, and how these relations weremediated by food insecurity and exposure to violence. A total of 185 participants (50.8% girls;aged between 6 to 17, M = 11.82, SD = 3.7) from three vulnerable schools located in ruraland urban areas of Guatemala were assessed. The results indicated that exposure to violencesignificantly moderates the effect of sociodemographic and socioeconomic variables in measuresof depression, anxiety and health-related quality of life. Adolescents more exposed to violencereported higher levels of depression and anxiety, as well as lower levels of health-related quality oflife. In contrast, food insecurity did not seem to influence psychological adjustment outcomes in thislow-SES sample. These findings highlight the relevance of exposure to violence for mental healthand well-being, and is a factor that should be considered when designing public health policies topromote children and adolescents’ welfare.
PB MDPI
SN 1660-4601
YR 2020
FD 2020-10
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10272/19084
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10272/19084
LA eng
NO Company Córdoba, R., Gómez Baya, D., López Gaviño, F. & Ibáñez Alfonso, J. A. (2020). Mental Health, Quality of Life and Violence Exposure in Low-Socioeconomic Status Children and Adolescents of Guatemala. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Volumen: 17 Número: 20, Número de artículo: 7620. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17207620
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 31 may 2026