Abstract summary 

Disruptive behavioral disorders (DBDs) are common among children/adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. A 16-week manualized multiple family group (MFG) intervention called Amaka Amasanyufu designed to reduce DBDs among school-going children/adolescents in low-resource communities in Uganda was efficacious in reducing symptoms of poor mental health relative to usual care in the short-term (4 months post-intervention-initiation). We examined whether intervention effects are sustained 6 months postintervention.We used longitudinal data from 636 children positive for DBDs: (1) Control condition, 10 schools, n = 243; (2) MFG delivered via parent peers (MFG-PP), eight schools, n = 194 and; (3) MFG delivered via community healthcare workers (MFG-CHW), eight schools, n = 199 from the SMART Africa-Uganda study (2016-2022). All participants were blinded. We estimated three-level linear mixed-effects models and pairwise comparisons at 6 months postintervention and time-within-group effects to evaluate the impact on Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), impaired functioning, depressive symptoms, and self-concept.At 6 months postintervention, children in MFG-PP and MFG-CHW groups had significantly lower means for ODD (mean difference [MD] = -1.08 and -1.35) impaired functioning (MD = -1.19 and -1.16), and depressive symptoms (MD = -1.06 and -0.83), than controls and higher means for self-concept (MD = 3.81 and 5.14). Most outcomes improved at 6 months compared to baseline. There were no differences between the two intervention groups.The Amaka Amasanyufu intervention had sustained effects in reducing ODD, impaired functioning, and depressive symptoms and improving self-concept relative to usual care at 6 months postintervention. Our findings strengthen the evidence that the intervention effectively reduces DBDs and impaired functioning among young people in resource-limited settings and was sustained over time.

Authors & Co-authors:  Ssewamala Fred M FM Brathwaite Rachel R Sensoy Bahar Ozge O Namatovu Phionah P Neilands Torsten B TB Kiyingi Joshua J Huang Keng-Yen KY McKay Mary M MM

Study Outcome 

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