Abstract
BackgroundThe 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in the closure of businesses and schools, the remote provision of services and the disruption of the services of professional childminders. These disruptions resulted in a significant increase in parental responsibility for childcare. Such a substantial increase in time requirements for childcare domestically has potential mental health consequences. We therefore ascertained the relationship between childcare and depression in South Africa during the pandemic.MethodsData came from the National Income Dynamics Study-Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey, a longitudinal telephonic survey conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. The outcome was a depression index obtained from the two-item Patient Health Questionnaire while the main covariate was the average number of hours spent in taking care of children per weekday. We employed the ordered logit model.FindingsWe found a positive relationship between spending more hours on childcare and worse depressive health for caregivers in both periods analyzed. Childcare responsibilities preventing/mitigating the ability of caregivers to work as well as preventing caregivers from searching for jobs moderated the depression-childcare relationship.ConclusionThese findings highlight the need to carefully consider policy responses aimed at containing the pandemic. We advocate a multi-stakeholder approach to mitigating the mental health impact of COVID-19 by encouraging more collaboration between government, school authorities, employers and parents/guardians.
Highlights
The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had a devastating impact on livelihoods
Data came from the National Income Dynamics Study-Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey, a longitudinal telephonic survey conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa
Data came from the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS)-Coronavirus Rapid Mobile (CRAM) survey, a rapid telephonic longitudinal survey of South Africans conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had a devastating impact on livelihoods. Some direct measures taken against the pandemic, like school closures, resulted in secondary consequences like significantly increased time requirements for childcare, which can potentially have adverse mental health consequences. The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in the closure of businesses and schools, the remote provision of services and the disruption of the services of professional childminders. These disruptions resulted in a significant increase in parental responsibility for childcare. Such a substantial increase in time requirements for childcare domestically has potential mental health consequences. We ascertained the relationship between childcare and depression in South Africa during the pandemic
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