Alan J Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), Department of Epidemiology and Health Systems, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
J Affect Disord. 2022 Dec 15;319:352-360. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.09.101. Epub 2022 Sep 24.
We use the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) to explore how different dimensions of poverty more directly linked to young people are associated with depressive symptoms among South African youth.
Data came from the 2017 wave of the nationally-representative National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) in South Africa. We focused on a sample of 15-24-year-olds whose depressive symptoms were assessed using an adapted version of the 10-item Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. We examine how individual dimensions and indicators of the MPI relate to depression, in comparison to more conventional measures, including household income, subjective social standing, overcrowding and personal assets. Cross-sectional analyses were adjusted for clustering to account for sampling design.
The MPI index was not associated with probable depression (OR = 1.02, 95 % CI 0.81-1.29). Only lack of access to the labour market emerged as a key individual dimension associated with probable depression (OR = 5.29, 95 % CI 1.70-16.47), a relationship driven by an increased odds for those not in employment, education or training. Lack of household assets, living in an informal dwelling and lower perceived social standing were also associated with increased odds for depression. No gender differences were noted.
The study is cross-sectional and not suitable to examine the causal nature of the association between multidimensional poverty and depression.
Poverty dimensions that measure youth's access to employment or training have a strong association with depression. Further research is needed to assess whether improved access to employment or training contributes to improving mental health among young South Africans.
我们使用全球多维贫困指数（MPI）来探讨与年轻人更直接相关的多维贫困维度如何与南非青年的抑郁症状相关。
数据来自南非具有全国代表性的国家收入动态研究（NIDS）的 2017 年波次。我们关注的是 15-24 岁的样本，他们的抑郁症状使用经过改编的 10 项流行病学研究中心抑郁量表评估。我们研究了 MPI 的各个维度和指标与抑郁的关系，与更传统的衡量标准（包括家庭收入、主观社会地位、过度拥挤和个人资产）进行了比较。横断面分析根据聚类进行了调整，以考虑到抽样设计。
MPI 指数与可能的抑郁无关（OR=1.02，95%CI 0.81-1.29）。只有缺乏进入劳动力市场这一关键的个体维度与可能的抑郁相关（OR=5.29，95%CI 1.70-16.47），这种关系是由未就业、未接受教育或培训的人增加的几率驱动的。缺乏家庭资产、居住在非正规住所和较低的感知社会地位也与抑郁几率增加有关。没有发现性别差异。
该研究是横断面的，不适合检验多维贫困与抑郁之间关联的因果性质。
衡量青年获得就业或培训机会的贫困维度与抑郁有很强的关联。需要进一步研究，以评估改善就业或培训机会是否有助于改善南非青年的心理健康。
