Observation Report from Clinical Practice in Ghana: Children and Adolescent Depression

Abstract

The priority of Ghanaian parents is seeking higher academic attainment for their children. This is associated with the first President of Ghana, President Nkrumah, who stated that Ghanaians should seek first the status of education and everything shall be added unto it. As a result parents compete with each other to achieve the higher status of education for their children. Parents desperately seek help to intervene learning difficulties among school children and adolescents. The aim of this study is to investigate learning disability cases that are seen in a psychological clinic in Ghana using a survey method. The analysis included cases of young people from 3 to 18 years (mean age = 12.7 years, SD = 5.21) that were seen from the year 2011 to 2013. Eighty eight (58%) of the cases were learning disabilities associated with environmental factors whereas 64 (42%) were organic learning disability associated with biological factors. Children experiencing non-organic learning disability conditions were from low socio-economic status families (X2 = 5.95, df = 1, p < 0.05). Findings revealed that high demands of academic performance on these school children manifest as mental health symptoms of depression and anxiety including substance abuse. Practitioners in Ghana are encouraged to assess cognitive functioning of children diagnosed with emotional difficulties in order to get a correct diagnosis and plan appropriate treatment for these children.