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Association between Hopelessness and Conduct Problem among School Going Adolescents in a Rural and Urban Setting in Kenya

Anne W Mbwayo and Muthoni Mathai

The period of adolescence is characterized by physical, psychological, emotional and personality change. During this period the adolescents are in schools and are expected to complete their schooling successfully. These can overwhelm the adolescents with some developing hopelessness and conduct problems. This study aimed to find out if Hopelessness was a predictor of conduct problems among the school going youth. It was conducted in eight public rural and urban schools among youth aged between 11 and 17 years. Eight schools, four primary schools and four secondary schools, took part in the study. Hopelessness was measured using the Hopelessness Scale for Children by Kazdin while. Conduct problems was measured using the Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire youth version. Data of 2439 students was analyzed. The prevalence of high hopelessness was 20.7% while the prevalence of conduct problems was 15.7%. At Bivariate analysis, only age, with the OR of having conduct problems if one was 11-13 years age group being 1.520 at 95% Cl (1.217-1.897), P<0.001, and hopelessness with the or of having conduct problems if one had high levels of hopelessness being 2.031at 95% Cl, (1.590-2.595), P<0.001. However, at multivariate analysis, only high levels of hopelessness was associated with conduct problems, or of 1.912 at 95% Cl, (1.491-2.452), p<0.001. From the findings, it can be concluded that hopelessness is associated with conduct problems and parents and teachers need to recognize this for appropriate interventions.