Exposure to Violence and Mental Health Outcomes Among Pre-schoolers in a South African Birth Cohort

Little is known about the relationship between violence exposure and mental health in preschoolers living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Multiple regression analyses investigated associations between violence exposure and mental health in the Drakenstein Child Health Study (N = 978), a South African birth cohort. Lifetime violence exposure was assessed at age 4.5 years using the parent-report Child Exposure to Community Violence Checklist (CECV). Mental health was assessed at age 5 years using the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL 1.5-5). Eighty-three percent of the children were exposed to some form of violence. Internalising and externalising behaviours were positively associated with overall violence exposure (beta per one unit change in the overall score = 0.55 [0.16, 0.94] and beta = 0.53 [0.23, 0.84], respectively), domestic victimisation (beta per one unit change in the subscore = 1.28 [0.28, 2.27]; beta = 1.14 [0.37, 1.90]) and witnessing community violence (beta = 0.77 [0.15, 1.39]; beta = 0.68 [0.19, 1.18]). There was a positive association between polyvictimisation and externalising (beta = 1.02 [0.30, 1.73]) but not internalising (beta = 0.87 [-0.06, 1.80]) behaviour problems. Evidence for an association of witnessing domestic violence with internalising (beta = 0.63 [-0.97, 2.24]) or externalising (beta = 1.23 [-0.04, 2.50]) behaviours was less robust. There was no association between community victimisation and internalising or externalising behaviours (beta = 0.72 [-1.52, 2.97; beta = 0.68 [ -1.06, 2.41]). Observations highlight the risk for mental health problems among preschoolers living in high-violence contexts and emphasize the need for early interventions.