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BMC Psychiatry
Published in: BMC Psychiatry 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Research article

The association between neighbourhood-level deprivation and depression: evidence from the south african national income dynamics study

Authors: Nicholas Dowdall, Catherine L. Ward, Crick Lund

Published in: BMC Psychiatry | Issue 1/2017

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Abstract

Background

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.

Methods

Using 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.

Results

Results 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.

Conclusions

Findings 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.
Footnotes
1
The apartheid categories still influence many outcomes for South Africans (Coovadia, Jewkes, etc. 2009). Their use does not imply that the authors condone them: we do not.
 
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Metadata
Title
The association between neighbourhood-level deprivation and depression: evidence from the south african national income dynamics study
Authors
Nicholas Dowdall
Catherine L. Ward
Crick Lund
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Psychiatry / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 1471-244X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-017-1561-2

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