title: Common mental disorders in a young urban population in Colombia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are few studies of mental ill health among young people in developing countries.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To measure the prevalence of common mental disorders among low-income young people in the city of Cali, Colombia and to examine associations with violence and social capital.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Self-Reporting Questionnaire was administered to 1057 young people aged 15-25 years. Social capital, violence, alcoholism and socio-demographic variables were also measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found 255 young people (24%) with common mental disorders. Being a woman, having limited education and experiencing high levels of violence were the main risk factors for common mental disorders. Social capital did not emerge as a risk factor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A large burden of mental ill health among young people was found; this requires urgent interventions and more research on the mechanisms which link mental health and violence.
authors.affiliation: London South Bank University, 103 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, UK. t.harpham@lsbu.ac.uk
authors.forename: Trudy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Harpham
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Snoxell
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D011203:Poverty; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014504:Urban Health; D014754:Violence