Relationships between adolescent pregnancy, income inequality, and incident depression from a panel study in South Africa from 2013-2017
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Date
2021
Authors
Goodman, Madelyn
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Abstract
Unipolar depressive disorders were the second leading cause of morbidity among adolescent
girls in Africa in 2012. Yet, little research had been conducted in sub-Saharan Africa to examine
correlates of depression in adolescent girls. This study aimed to examine relationships between
adolescent pregnancy, income inequality, and depression through a retrospective cohort analysis
in South Africa from 2013 to 2017. Members of this cohort were between the ages of 15 and 19
at their baseline interview for the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) (N = 1,660).
Adolescents who had experienced a pregnancy were compared with adolescents who had not
been pregnant over two years of follow-up. Logistic and linear regression models were employed
to examine participants’ risk of the onset of depression and depressive symptom severity using
the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. The incidence of depression in the
study sample was 18.4%, with 306 having developed depression. Results suggested that neither
adolescent pregnancy (P = 0.093; 95% CI: 0.935 , 2.387) nor income inequality (P = 0.517; 95%
CI: 0.945 , 1.029) were related to incident depression in this cohort. There was marginally
significant evidence, however, that adolescent pregnancy was related to depressive symptom
severity (P = 0.055; 95% CI: -0.014 , 1.441). Further, none of the selected covariates showed
significant relationships with either outcome. These findings were consistent with other studies
looking at these exposures separately. This study aims to fill the gap in the literature on
adolescent depression in South Africa. Further research, particularly prospective cohort studies,
should be conducted to examine correlates of depression among adolescents in sub-Saharan
Africa. Such observational research may elucidate risk factors for incident depression in this
group and inform interventions for depression
Description
A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Epidemiology (Biostatistics) to the Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021