Relationship Between Mothers’/Caregivers’ Reported Learning Difficulty and Internalizing Symptoms (Anxiety and Depression) of Children Aged 5–17 Years in Ghana

Authors

• Queen Angela Norman, University of Ghana
• Nutifafa Eugene Yaw Dey, University of Ghana
• Kenneth Owusu Ansah, University of Ghana
• Francis Arthur-Holmes, Lingnan University
• Henry Ofori Duah, Marquette UniversityFollow
• Pascal Agbadi, Lingnan University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-2021

Publisher

Elsevier

Source Publication

Research in Developmental Disabilities

Source ISSN

0891-4222

Abstract

Studies have reported different factors associated with anxiety and depression among children and adolescents. However, studies examining the relationship between learning difficulties and internalizing symptoms of Ghanaian children is scarce. The only study available found that 152 students with learning difficulties who visited a psychology clinic for psychological assessment had high levels of stress and anxiety (Asare & Danquah, 2016). While the study provided preliminary evidence of the relationship between learning difficulties and internalizing symptoms, it had some methodological challenges. For instance, the study used a relatively smaller sample size and subsampled children in Accra. Our study used a nationally representative dataset of children aged 5−17 years to investigate the relationship between learning difficulties and internalizing symptoms; specifically, anxiety and depression. This paper adds to the literature that children who had some learning difficulties were more likely to feel anxious than children without learning difficulties. Children with ‘some difficulties’ and ‘a lot of difficulties or could not learn at all’ were more likely to feel depressed. In other words, learning difficulty was significantly related to both anxiety and depression of children aged 5−17 years in Ghana. Therefore, any policies, programs or interventions set up to promote the education of children in Ghana must take into consideration the difficulties that some children may have in learning.

Comments

Accepted version. Research in Developmental Disabilities, Vol. 119 (December 2021). DOI. This article is © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. Used with permission.

Recommended Citation

Norman, Queen Angela; Dey, Nutifafa Eugene Yaw; Ansah, Kenneth Owusu; Arthur-Holmes, Francis; Duah, Henry Ofori; and Agbadi, Pascal, "Relationship Between Mothers’/Caregivers’ Reported Learning Difficulty and Internalizing Symptoms (Anxiety and Depression) of Children Aged 5–17 Years in Ghana" (2021). College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications. 1251.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/nursing_fac/1251