DETERMINANTS OF MENTAL IL LN ESS IN A RURAL ETHIOPIA ADU LT POPULATION

2000 subjects from two woredas of a rural section of
Ethiopia were interviewed to determine how many were suffering
from mental disorder and what determinants are related to the
disorder. A WHO Self-Reporting Questionnaire was used to assess
mental illness. The questionnaire has been used before in
Ethiopia and measures neurotic, psychotic, and psychosomatic
illness in terms of symptoms. 344 cases were found, indicating
an overall frequency of 17.2% . The great majority of cases were
suffering from neurotic and psychosomatic illnesses. Psychiatric
morbidity was higher in women, in divorced/separated/widowed
groups, and in the age group 35-44. However, the level of social
stress experienced in the past year was most predict i ve of mental
illness; the higher a person's stress level, the higher the
mental symptom score. Family history of mental illness was the
second best predictor.