The Depressed State of Bahamian Adolescents in The Bahamas
While 60.3% of teens live in a home with their father or a father figure - a term encompassing relatives or parental partners/friends who take on a paternal role - many teens, in increasing proportions, still feel unheard (60.4%) - and misunderstood (72.4%) by their parents or guardians. These feelings are more frequently reported by girls than boys.
Parental involvement in academic activities, particularly homework monitoring, has appreciably declined over the years. In 1998, 78.2% of Bahamian teens reported that their parents regularly checked their homework, while only 21.4% said their parents rarely or never did so. By 2023, the percentage of parents routinely monitoring homework had plummeted to 30.5%, with 50.2% of teens indicating their parents rarely or never paid attention to their homework. This decline is more pronounced among girls, and becomes increasingly common as teens progress to higher grade levels.
Additionally, 37.2% of teens state that their parents or guardians never or rarely knew what they were doing during their free time. These findings may allude to widening disconnect between teens and their caregivers.
Across nearly all measures/variables - unhealthy diets, substance use (excluding illegal drugs), bullying, witnessing violence at home, and mental health struggles, as well as suicidal thoughts and behaviors - Bahamian girls face disproportionate burdens, experiencing greater negative impacts. Research by Dr. David Allen concludes that high academic performance is not a sufficient protective factor to mitigate risky behaviour; as supported by students with high GPAs can still exhibit elevated levels of depression and PTSD. This is corroborated by the GSHS findings, which reveal that while girls tend to have higher GPAs, they also report higher incidences of these adverse experiences and behaviors. This deserves a pause.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are well documented as significant risk factors for a wide range of negative outcomes across the lifespan. These outcomes relate to physical health issues, mental health disorders, behavioural issues, lower educational attainment, exposure to violence and intergenerational transmission of violence - among others. While the GSHS is not a formal instrument for measuring ACEs, The Bahamas' adaptatIon of the survey did incorporate questions addressing key ACE-related factors such as experiences of violence, sexual abuse, lack of parental support, household drug use, hunger, and more.
Research consistently shows a dose - response relationship between ACEs and negative outcomes. Meaning, that as the number of ACEs increases the likelihood of experiencing negative outcomes also rises. Of the ACEs explored in the GSHS, 93.9% of teens in The Bahamas had 1 ACE, 52.3% had 2 ACEs and 13.5% had 3 or more ACEs.
These adverse experiences were more prevalent among girls than boys.
