Abstract
BackgroundDepression contributes substantially to the burden of disease in South Africa. Little is known about how neighbourhoods affect the mental health of the people living in them.MethodsUsing nationally representative data (N=11,955) from the South African National Income Dynamics Study and the South African Indices of Multiple Deprivation (SAIMD) modelled at small-area level, this study tested associations between neighbourhood-level deprivation and depression, after controlling for individual-level covariates.ResultsResults showed a significant positive association between neighbourhood-level deprivation and depression using the composite SAIMD (β = 0.31 (0.15); p=0.04) as well as the separate deprivation domains. Living environment deprivation (β =0.53 (0.16); p=0.001) and employment deprivation (β = 0.38 (0.13); p=0.004), respectively, were the two most salient domains in predicting this relationship.ConclusionsFindings supported the hypothesis that there is a positive association between living in a more deprived neighbourhood and depression, even after controlling for individual-level covariates. This study suggests that alleviating structural poverty could reduce the burden of depression in South Africa.
Highlights
Depression contributes substantially to the burden of disease in South Africa
This study investigates the association between neighbourhood-level deprivation in 2007 and individual depression scores in 2008, with controls for other individual covariates included
For the adult sample of the first wave of National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), 12,448 individuals were successfully mapped onto 417 datazones and had completed the CES-D10 portion of the individual adult questionnaire
Summary
Depression contributes substantially to the burden of disease in South Africa. Little is known about how neighbourhoods affect the mental health of the people living in them. There is a long tradition of inquiry from high-income countries (HIC) into the relationship between socioeconomic adversity and depression at the individual level. Variables such as low income [3], unemployment, low education, social class [4], and financial strain [5] all show associations with depression. A promising body of empirical literature has begun to show significant associations between specific neighbourhood characteristics and depressive symptoms across a number of countries and socioeconomic groups [8, 9]. Neighbourhood social disorder has been consistently found to be associated with depressive symptoms, and higher neighbourhood socioeconomic status (SES) to function as a protective factor against depression [10].
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