Browsing by Author "Mbeneka, Carolyne"
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Item Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Co-Existing Mental Health Disorders among LGBTQ Population in Selected Support Groups in Kenya(International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology, 2023-05) Waithima, Abraham K. ; Mbeneka, Carolyne; Munene, AlicePosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) individuals. In addition to PTSD, the condition is likely to co-exist with additional psychiatric disorders (Livingston, Berke, Scholl, Ruben, & Shipherd, 2020). However, little is known about the additional psychiatric disorders with PTSD among the LGBTQ individuals. Therefore, this current cross-sectional survey examined the estimate of PTSD and other comorbidities among the LGBTQ individuals in selected support groups in Kenya. Researcher-generated sociodemographic questionnaire and standardized psychological tools namely, The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL-5), Becks Depression Inventory-II, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10) were used as research instruments to collect data from the sample size of 148participants that were recruited using purposive sampling technique. Collected data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, namely Fisher’s Exact test, Chi-square test, Pearson correlation test, and Binary Logistic Regression. Results from the study showed that PTSD was 93% of the LGBTQ with PTSD equally have depressive disorder, 74% of the participants with PTSD similarly have alcohol use disorder, and that 89.3% of LGBTQ individuals with PTSD also use illicit drugs. Pearson correlation test indicated that there was a positive correlation between PTSD and depression, and drug use disorder. Also, a positive correlation was found between alcohol use disorder and depressive disorder. Binary logistic regression showed that LGBTQ individuals with PTSD are 15.9 adjusted odd ratio to developing depressive disorder (AOR: 15.92; 95% CI: 5.517- 45.962). Conversely, alcohol use disorder was found to be a protective factor in this study (AOR: .87; 95% CI: .355 – 2.139). This suggests that participants used alcohol in this study for positive adjustment in coping with PTSD symptoms. In conclusion, the experience of discrimination, victimization, and minority stress by members of LGBTQ in Kenya have led to other psychiatric conditions besides PTSD.Item The Efficacy of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy in Treating PTSD among LGBTQ Individuals in Selected Support Groups in Kenya(Open Access Library Journa, 2023-07) Waithima, Abraham K. ; Mbeneka, Carolyne; Munene, AliceVirtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) is a digitally assisted psychotherapy that has potential evidence to suggest that VRET may be effective to reduce posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Meanwhile, empirical studies have indicated that LGBTQ+ individuals are at higher risk of developing PTSD, with the prevalence estimates of up to 48%, which is much higher than the general population. This current study therefore sought to investigate whether VRET will be efficacious to treat PTSD among LGBTQ+ individuals. This study is an intervention research using quasi-experimental research design to collect data from 60 LGBTQ+ individuals in selected support groups in Kenya. The samples of 60 LGBTQ+ individuals were screened positive for PTSD symptoms, using the post-traumatic stress disorder checklist (PCL-5). The recruited participants were assigned into two research groups namely, experimental (N = 30), and control (N = 30) groups. Participants at experimental group were treated with VRET, whereas, participants at control group did not go through VRET protocols. Participants were assessed at baseline, midline and a 3-month follow-up assessment at end line. The results from independent sample t test showed that VRET was effective in the treatment of PTSD (p = 0.042). The partial Eta Square effect size of (η2 = 0.080; p = 0.042) at endline is an indication that VRET has a medium effect size. The study concluded that VRET is a potentially effective psychotherapeutic approach for the treatment of PTSD and it can be used to help the LGBTQ+ individuals to mitigate the severity of PTSD among the SGM population in Kenya.Item The Prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and its Severity among Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals from Selected Support Groups in Kenya(International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology, 2023-04) Waithima, Abraham K. ; Mbeneka, Carolyne; Munene, AliceThe sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals are those who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer and others such as intersex, asexual, pansexual, and nonbinary (LGBTQ+). Recent survey shows that this population are vulnerable to exhibit higher incidence of mental health conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as opposed to non-LGBTQ+ colleagues (Kassing, Casanova, Griffin, Wood, & Stepleman, 2021). Therefore, this current cross-sectional survey sought to estimate the proportion of PTSD and its severity among the sexual and gender minority individuals from selected support groups in Kenya. The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL-5) was used to collect data from the sample size of 148 participants using purposive sampling technique. Results from the survey showed 66.9% general prevalence of PTSD and that severity of PTSD was found to be dominant among participants aged 18-23 years at 35.8%, female SGM individuals at 47.3%, the unemployed participants at 41.2%, the singles at 45.9% and among the lesbian participants at 45.9%. This current study concluded that the magnitude of psychiatric conditions such as PTSD among LGBTQ+ individuals was high, hence, mental health service providers working among the LGBTQ+ individuals might consider paying more attention to evaluate PTSD symptoms to provide holistic care to this population