{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,4]],"date-time":"2026-08-04T23:18:16Z","timestamp":1785885496883,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,18]],"date-time":"2025-06-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1750204800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100031746","name":"Science for Africa Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["Grant NO# POS-24-07"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Grant NO# POS-24-07"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100031746","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n<jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Mental health issues and stigma experiences significantly affect adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV). While the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Berger HIV Stigma Scale-Short Form (HSS-SF) are widely used screening tools for mental health and stigma, their factorial validity among ALHIV in resource-limited settings such as Ghana remains understudied. This study investigated the factor structure, internal consistency, and correlations of the PHQ-9, GAD-7, and HSS-SF among ALHIV in Ghana.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>A cross-sectional study was conducted among 105 ALHIV (aged 10\u221224 years) receiving care at three government hospitals in Eastern Ghana. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to examine the factor structure of the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 and HSS-SF.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>A two-factor structure showed the best fit for PHQ-9, with satisfactory internal consistency for cognitive\/affective (\u03b1\u2009=\u20090.79) and somatic factors (\u03b1\u2009=\u20090.70). The GAD-7 demonstrated best fit as a unidimensional factor structure, with acceptable internal consistency (\u03b1\u2009=\u20090.88). The HSS-SF was found to be best represented by a three-factor structure, with internal consistency ranging from 0.76 to 0.95 across subscales.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>The PHQ-9, GAD-7, and HSS-SF demonstrated acceptable factorial structure and internal consistency among Ghanaian ALHIV, supporting their utility as screening tools in this population.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0326169","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,18]],"date-time":"2025-06-18T17:44:14Z","timestamp":1750268654000},"page":"e0326169","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Factorial structure of the patient health questionnaire-9, generalized anxiety disorder-7 and berger HIV stigma scale-short form among adolescents living with HIV in Ghana"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9308-6031","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Samuel","family":"Adjorlolo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dorothy Serwaa","family":"Boakye","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,18]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0326169.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.1186\/s12981-021-00351-1","article-title":"The prevalence of depression among adolescent with HIV\/AIDS: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"18","author":"G Ayano","year":"2021","journal-title":"AIDS Res Ther"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0326169.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"28","DOI":"10.1192\/S174936760000552X","article-title":"Mental health services in sub-Saharan Africa","volume":"5","author":"D Skuse","year":"2008","journal-title":"Int Psychiatry"},{"key":"pone.0326169.ref003","unstructured":"WHO. 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