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Title: Income inequality and depressive symptoms in South Africa: A longitudinal analysis.
Citation Type: Conference Paper
Publication Year: 2016
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Abstract: Theory and research suggest that income inequality may negatively impact mental health. We examined the relationship between districtlevel income inequality and individuallevel depressive symptoms in South Africaa country with high inequalityusing longitudinal data from Wave 1 (2008) and Wave 3 (2012) of the National Income Dynamics Study, as well as data from the 2007 Community Survey and 2011 Census. In both crosssectional regression models and longitudinal fixedeffects regression models, districtlevel Gini coefficients were not associated with Center for Epidemiological Studies of Depression Short Form (CESD10) scores or with high depressive symptoms (scores of 10 or higher). Factors such as age, African race, being single, and having lower household income were independently associated with higher depressive symptoms. Our results did not support the income inequality hypothesis with respect to depressive symptoms. Further research should examine broader lag periods, levels of aggregation, and ranges of inequality.
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Authors: Adjaye-Gbewonyo, K; Avendano, M; Subramanian, S. V.; Kawachi, I
Conference Name: Population Association of America 2016 Annual Meeting
Publisher Location: Washington D.C.
Data Collections: IPUMS International
Topics: Health
Countries: South Africa