Dissociative experiences, including perceptual distortions, daydreaming and memory lapses, are clinically relevant and possible correlates and associated features of psychosis risk rather than established prodromal indicators. This study examined dissociative experiences patterns among Kenyan youth and their associations with sociodemographic factors, risk for psychosis and mood disorders. This was a cross-sectional study among youth aged 14–30 years in the Nairobi Metropolitan Area. Participants completed the Washington Early Recognition Center Affectivity and Psychosis Screen (WERCAP) and the Washington Early Recognition Center Dissociation Screen (WERC-DS): Exploratory factor analysis, group comparisons and reliability testing were applied. Dissociative experiences were common among participants, with 25–47% endorsing the highest frequency on individual daydreaming items, and 6.5–39.5% endorsing the highest severity on individual items assessing perceptual distortions. Three factors emerged (Daydream Intensity and Engagement, Perceptual Distortion and Memory Lapses), demonstrating strong internal consistency (α = 0.89). Youth at high risk for psychosis reported significantly higher dissociation scores than low-risk peers (p < 0.001), specifically perceptual distortions (p = 0.001) and immersive daydreaming (p < 0.001). Dissociative experiences varied significantly by age and socioeconomic status. Dissociative experiences are prevalent and developmentally patterned among Kenyan youth and are strongly associated with psychosis risk, supporting dissociation as a psychological construct associated with psychosis-risk status in low-resource settings.

Despite growing recognition of the intergenerational effects of maternal mental health, evidence from tea garden communities remains limited. This study assessed the mental health status of working mothers in tea gardens of Moulvibazar, Bangladesh, examined its association with children’s well-being, and explored contextual factors shaping maternal mental health. A convergent cross-sectional mixed-methods study was conducted. Using a purposive and stratified random sampling technique, the quantitative data were collected from 451 working mothers with at least one child aged 2–7 years. Mothers’ psychological well-being was assessed using the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale-21 and World Health Organisation–Five scales, while children’s behavioural and emotional well-being was measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The qualitative component included 11 key informant interviews and two focus group discussions (FGDs) from Moulvibazar, Bangladesh. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, and qualitative data were thematically analysed. A substantial proportion of mothers reported high levels of psychological distress, with 32.4%, 29.9% and 31.7% experiencing moderate to extremely severe depression, anxiety and stress, respectively, while 33.9% had poor well-being. Age was significantly associated with stress (p = 0.014) and overall well-being (p = 0.002), whereas no significant association was observed between childcare arrangements and anxiety (p = 0.171). Among children, 87.8% were classified as having abnormal SDQ scores based on maternal report. Addressing maternal mental health through improved working conditions, accessible childcare and targeted mental health interventions is critical for breaking cycles of intergenerational vulnerability.

Displaced persons with non-communicable diseases (NCD) face challenges in disease management and increased risk of mental health problems. This randomized controlled trial assessed the impact of psychotherapy treatment (Common Elements Treatment Approach [CETA]) on hypertension and diabetes mellitus medication adherence (primary) and mental and physical health outcomes (secondary) among displaced Myanmar adults with poor medication adherence in a Thai shelter community. Treatment participants received weekly CETA for 4–12 weeks; comparison participants had access to routine psychosocial support. Eligible participants were chronic disease patients with <70% medication adherence over prior month. Data were collected at baseline, 3 and 6 months. Of 650 adults screened, 283 (43.5%) met eligibility criteria and 224 consented (CETA n = 112, comparison n = 112) to participate; 73 (32.6%) reported elevated mental health symptoms. At 6-month follow-up, medication adherence improved in both arms, with greater improvements among CETA participants (MARS-5: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.07 to 1.02, p = 0.023). CETA significantly reduced mental health symptoms among those with elevated symptoms at baseline (−3.06, 95% CI: −5.19 to −0.93, p = 0.005). The high rate of mental health symptoms and the impact of CETA on NCD medication adherence supports integration of mental health services into NCD care systems.

Climate change-induced disasters continue to disproportionately affect low, middle and upper-middle income countries (LMICs), often leaving survivors at risk of serious mental health challenges. Yet, mental health interventions in these settings remain limited and poorly integrated into health systems. This study explores the types and levels of existing mental health interventions for individuals affected by climate-induced disasters, using the Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s framework on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support. A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines across six databases, yielding 14 studies for final analysis. Key data on study design, disaster type, mental health conditions, intervention types and service providers were extracted and mapped against the Inter-Agency Standing Committee framework. While interventions were identified across all four layers of support, most were concentrated at the individual level, focusing on non-specialised services delivered by trained non-specialist providers (e.g., community health workers or lay counsellors) and specialised services provided by licenced clinical professionals, with limited emphasis on community-based or systems-level approaches. Results indicate such a significant gap, about 79% of the studies focused on the individual level, in mental health interventions in LMICs. It is therefore crucial to address these gaps to ensure comprehensive mental health care is available in disaster-prone countries.

In recent years, there has been increased public concern surrounding the mental health of young people in Barbados. A significant challenge for young people experiencing mental health conditions is stigma, which is a key barrier to help-seeking. This study aimed to explore how young Barbadians with mental health conditions experience and respond to mental health stigma and help-seeking. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2022 with 28 Barbadians aged 18–24 years who reported being diagnosed with a mental health condition, or self-identifying as having experienced mental health challenges. The data were analysed through reflexive thematic analysis. The findings highlighted the importance of culture in how mental health is perceived, and the role of anticipated and experienced stigma deterring help-seeking. Social networks acted as both facilitators and barriers to stigma and help-seeking, and mixed experiences and opinions of formal services raised concerns regarding the quality of care and accessibility. These findings highlight the need for locally informed, culturally relevant strategies and interventions to address and reduce stigma, facilitate help-seeking and improve care outcomes within the community in Barbados.

Global mental health advances its commitment to rights-based care grounded in dignity, autonomy and freedom from coercion, assuming worth is inherent and support is a right. This Perspective aims to strengthen that agenda by adding a cultural-implementation lens: in many settings, everyday moral reasoning links worth to contribution (e.g., labour, perseverance and fulfilment of social obligations), creating a moral economy of worth in which legitimacy is earned, relational and conditional. Drawing on cross-cultural psychology, the article argues that contribution-based moralities are especially salient where three cultural dimensions co-occur: restraint, collectivism and long-term orientation. In such contexts, support can be morally misread as unearned reward, rest as indulgence and reduced functioning as moral failure, producing ethical dissonance that shapes help-seeking, clinical practice and policy uptake without implying rejection of human rights. Using Japan as an illustrative case, the article shows how norms of perseverance (ganbaru) and regulated dependence (amae) can intensify contingent self-worth, self-stigma, rapid-return expectations and family hesitation to seek support. To improve legitimacy and sustainability, five strategies are proposed: broaden what counts as contribution; frame recovery as stewardship for future participation; avoid morally triggering eligibility language; use culturally credible lived-experience narratives; and engage institutions across levels that shape moral judgement.

Understanding correlates and potential causes of mental illness stigma in community-based settings in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is important for developing effective interventions to reduce stigma and demand-side barriers for treatment. This study analyzed data from structured questionnaires administered to 178 respondents in the Buyende district in Eastern Uganda to investigate sociodemographic and clinical factors correlated with mental illness stigma. Factor analysis of 33 items revealed a single dominant factor reflecting mental health stigma. Bivariate and multivariate analyses of sociodemographic and clinical correlates were used to identify factors associated with stigma in the entire sample and separately within the subgroups with evidence of mental illness. In the entire sample, female gender was the only independent correlate of stigma. Analysis of the mental illness subgroup also showed that women had high levels of mental illness stigma. These findings suggest that female gender appears to be a more important correlate of mental health stigma than clinical factors. Nevertheless, effective destigmatizing interventions are needed for the entire population, with additional approaches specifically tailored to women.

This study evaluated the association between Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and mental health indicators, providing evidence to inform maternal health policy. This study used the first nationally representative cross-sectional data on mental health symptoms from the 2024 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS), including 13,951 women aged 15–49 years. Anxiety and depression were assessed using the GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scales, with a score of ≥10 indicating the presence of symptoms. Stepwise, survey-weighted multivariable logistic regression was employed to examine the associations of mental health indicators and various dimensions of IPV, reporting adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Physical IPV was significantly associated with higher odds of Depression aOR= 3.89; 95% CI: 2.16-6.95; p < 0.001), while Emotional IPV was also associated with higher odds of Depression aOR = 3.50; 95% CI: 2.09-5.86; p < 0.001). Similarly, Any IPV was associated with substantial higher odds with Depression aOR = 2.90; 95% CI: 1.80-4.67, p < 0.001) and Anxiety aOR = 2.05; 95% CI: 1.20-3.50, p = 0.008). These findings provide evidence-based, actionable insights for policymakers to integrate mental health and IPV prevention in high-burden provinces to meet the targets of SDG 3 and SDG 5.

This study examined trends in adolescent self-harm incidence rates and associated contextual factors among 77 low- and lower-middle-income countries. Annual sex-specific self-harm incidence rates for ages 10–19 years were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 database. Joinpoint regression assessed trends while country and year fixed-effects models examined their association with self-harm incidence rates. Median incidence rates declined from 35.9 to 35.3 per 100,000 among males and from 40.8 to 38.1 among females. Average annual percentage changes (AAPCs) among males were negative in 40 countries and positive in 37 (maximum 2.16%); among females, AAPCs were negative in 47 and positive in 30 (maximum 3.64%). Male self-harm incidence rates were positively associated with drug use exposure, adolescent fertility, new HIV infections, rule of law and unemployment, and negatively with control of corruption, alcohol use and urban population. Female incidence rates were positively associated with adolescent fertility rates, drug use, rule of law, mean years of schooling and labor force participation, and negatively with alcohol and tobacco use exposure, control of corruption, regulatory quality and sociodemographic index. These sex-specific differences in trends and contextual factors emphasize the need for integrated reproductive, mental and substance use targeted country-level prevention strategies.

Cervical cancer, primarily caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), is the most common cancer in women in sub-Saharan Africa and the most common cause of cancer fatalities among women on the continent. While both prevention and early detection are possible through HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening, health system capacity is inadequate for screening and there are pervasive negative attitudes and beliefs. A major, modifiable but understudied barrier is cancer stigma, which underlies suboptimal vaccination efforts as well as cancer screening. Adhering to the PRISMA, ScR guidelines, we conducted a scoping review exploring HPV and cervical cancer stigma in Africa. We included studies that described stigma in relation to HPV or cervical cancer in Africa or among people of African descent. Forty-three studies described HPV and cervical cancer stigma in a dozen countries in sub-Saharan Africa and none in North Africa. Internalized, enacted and anticipated forms of stigma occurred at the individual, family and community levels. The four main themes that emerged include (1) how lack of knowledge and false perception hinders screening and vaccine uptake; (2) stigma in the context of practical barriers to care; (3) acceptability of education and interventions to reduce stigma and (4) stigma as a contributor to psychological distress and treatment outcomes. Only two studies described interventions focused on eliminating stigma through promoting cervical cancer and HPV-related knowledge, targeting misinformation and incorporating patient navigation. Addressing stigma is essential, as it is a key barrier to HPV vaccination, cervical cancer screening and timely treatment. We call for future studies to develop culturally informed interventions to reduce stigma and improve cervical cancer outcomes across all regions in Africa.