A Dataset on Adolescent Mental Health in Kenya: A 2023 Multi-County Survey

Despite the growing recognition of the mental health crisis among adolescents in low-andmiddle-income countries (LMICs), there is not enough reliable data on youths’ mental healthchallenges in Kenya. This dataset presents data from 17,089 adolescents in Kenya collected in2024 across four counties on a variety of mental health outcomes including depression andanxiety symptoms, adverse childhood experiences, digital stressors, family and emergingstressors, and help-seeking behaviors. The dataset includes 14 scales and describes psychometricproperties and correlations of each outcome with socio-demographic factors. This dataset isvaluable, as it supports validation of instruments for use in the sub-Saharan contexts andhighlights key associations between mental health outcomes and psychosocial risk and protectivefactors, providing a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.