Cognitive styles and psychological functioning in rural South African school students: Understanding influences for risk and resilience in the face of chronic adversity

Melissa A Cortina; Alan Stein; Kathleen Kahn; Tintswalo Mercy Hlungwani; Emily A Holmes; Mina Fazel

doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.01.010

Cognitive styles and psychological functioning in rural South African school students: Understanding influences for risk and resilience in the face of chronic adversity

J Adolesc. 2016 Jun:49:38-46. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.01.010. Epub 2016 Mar 17.

Authors

Melissa A Cortina¹, Alan Stein², Kathleen Kahn³, Tintswalo Mercy Hlungwani⁴, Emily A Holmes⁵, Mina Fazel⁶

Affiliations

¹ University of Oxford, Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK; MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Wits Education Campus, 27 St. Andrews Road, Parktown 2193, South Africa; Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Evidence Based Practice Unit (EBPU), University College London and the Anna Freud Centre, 4-8 Rodney Street, N1 9JH, UK. Electronic address: melissa.cortina@ucl.ac.uk.
² University of Oxford, Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK; MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Wits Education Campus, 27 St. Andrews Road, Parktown 2193, South Africa.
³ MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Wits Education Campus, 27 St. Andrews Road, Parktown 2193, South Africa; Centre for Global Health Research, Umeå University, Umeå 90187, Sweden.
⁴ MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Wits Education Campus, 27 St. Andrews Road, Parktown 2193, South Africa.
⁵ MRC Cognitions and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK.
⁶ University of Oxford, Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK.

PMID: 26994348
DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.01.010

Abstract

Adverse childhood experiences can show lasting effects on physical and mental health. Major questions surround how children overcome adverse circumstances to prevent negative outcomes. A key factor determining resilience is likely to be cognitive interpretation (how children interpret the world around them). The cognitive interpretations of 1025 school children aged 10-12 years in a rural, socioeconomically disadvantaged area of South Africa were examined using the Cognitive Triad Inventory for Children (CTI-C). These were examined in relation to psychological functioning and perceptions of the school environment. Those with more positive cognitive interpretations had better psychological functioning on scales of depression, anxiety, somatization and sequelae of potentially traumatic events. Children with more negative cognitions viewed the school-environment more negatively. Children living in poverty in rural South Africa experience considerable adversity and those with negative cognitions are at risk for psychological problems. Targeting children's cognitive interpretations may be a possible area for intervention.

Keywords: Cognitive style; Low and middle-income country; Psychological functioning; Resilience; School.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Child
Cognition
Emotional Adjustment*
Female
Humans
Male
Poverty / psychology
Resilience, Psychological*
Rural Population* / statistics & numerical data
South Africa
Students / psychology
Vulnerable Populations / psychology*
Vulnerable Populations / statistics & numerical data

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding