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Racial disparities in psychological distress in post-apartheid South Africa: results from the SANHANES-1 survey
PURPOSE: South Africa has long endured a high prevalence of mental disorders at the national level, and its unique social and historical context could be a contributor to an increased risk of mental health problems. Our current understanding is limited regarding the relative importance of various so...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
2021
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8494453/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34617128 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00127-021-02175-w |
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author | Harriman, Nigel Walsh Williams, David R. Morgan, Justin Winston Sewpaul, Ronel Manyaapelo, Thabang Sifunda, Sibusiso Mabaso, Musawenkosi Mbewu, Anthony David Reddy, Sasiragha Priscilla |
author_facet | Harriman, Nigel Walsh Williams, David R. Morgan, Justin Winston Sewpaul, Ronel Manyaapelo, Thabang Sifunda, Sibusiso Mabaso, Musawenkosi Mbewu, Anthony David Reddy, Sasiragha Priscilla |
author_sort | Harriman, Nigel Walsh |
collection | PubMed |
description | PURPOSE: South Africa has long endured a high prevalence of mental disorders at the national level, and its unique social and historical context could be a contributor to an increased risk of mental health problems. Our current understanding is limited regarding the relative importance of various social determinants to mental health challenges in South Africa, and how existing racial inequities may be explained by these determinants. METHODS: This study attempted to elucidate potential social determinants of mental health in South Africa using data from the nationally representative South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (SANHANES-1). The main outcome of interest was psychological distress, measured with the Kessler-10 scale. Hierarchical linear regression models included covariates for demographic and socioeconomic factors, count of traumatic events, and a series of stress-related constructs. Analyses were conducted on two populations: the entire sample (n = 15,981), and the African subpopulation (n = 10,723). RESULTS: Regression models on the entire sample indicated racial disparities in psychological distress, with Africans experiencing higher distress than White and Coloured individuals. Results within the African sub-population indicated geo-spatial disparities, with Africans in formal urban settings experiencing higher psychological distress than those living in formal and informal rural locales. Across both samples, results indicated a cumulative association between count of stressors and traumatic events and distress. CONCLUSION: We found racial disparities across several mental health-related domains. Africans had greater exposure to traumatic events, social stressors, and psychological distress. This research is a necessary foundation for public health interventions and policy change to effectively reduce inequities in psychological distress. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00127-021-02175-w. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-8494453 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2021 |
publisher | Springer Berlin Heidelberg |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-84944532021-10-08 Racial disparities in psychological distress in post-apartheid South Africa: results from the SANHANES-1 survey Harriman, Nigel Walsh Williams, David R. Morgan, Justin Winston Sewpaul, Ronel Manyaapelo, Thabang Sifunda, Sibusiso Mabaso, Musawenkosi Mbewu, Anthony David Reddy, Sasiragha Priscilla Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol Original Paper PURPOSE: South Africa has long endured a high prevalence of mental disorders at the national level, and its unique social and historical context could be a contributor to an increased risk of mental health problems. Our current understanding is limited regarding the relative importance of various social determinants to mental health challenges in South Africa, and how existing racial inequities may be explained by these determinants. METHODS: This study attempted to elucidate potential social determinants of mental health in South Africa using data from the nationally representative South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (SANHANES-1). The main outcome of interest was psychological distress, measured with the Kessler-10 scale. Hierarchical linear regression models included covariates for demographic and socioeconomic factors, count of traumatic events, and a series of stress-related constructs. Analyses were conducted on two populations: the entire sample (n = 15,981), and the African subpopulation (n = 10,723). RESULTS: Regression models on the entire sample indicated racial disparities in psychological distress, with Africans experiencing higher distress than White and Coloured individuals. Results within the African sub-population indicated geo-spatial disparities, with Africans in formal urban settings experiencing higher psychological distress than those living in formal and informal rural locales. Across both samples, results indicated a cumulative association between count of stressors and traumatic events and distress. CONCLUSION: We found racial disparities across several mental health-related domains. Africans had greater exposure to traumatic events, social stressors, and psychological distress. This research is a necessary foundation for public health interventions and policy change to effectively reduce inequities in psychological distress. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00127-021-02175-w. Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2021-10-06 2022 /pmc/articles/PMC8494453/ /pubmed/34617128 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00127-021-02175-w Text en © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2021 This article is made available via the PMC Open Access Subset for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. |
spellingShingle | Original Paper Harriman, Nigel Walsh Williams, David R. Morgan, Justin Winston Sewpaul, Ronel Manyaapelo, Thabang Sifunda, Sibusiso Mabaso, Musawenkosi Mbewu, Anthony David Reddy, Sasiragha Priscilla Racial disparities in psychological distress in post-apartheid South Africa: results from the SANHANES-1 survey |
title | Racial disparities in psychological distress in post-apartheid South Africa: results from the SANHANES-1 survey |
title_full | Racial disparities in psychological distress in post-apartheid South Africa: results from the SANHANES-1 survey |
title_fullStr | Racial disparities in psychological distress in post-apartheid South Africa: results from the SANHANES-1 survey |
title_full_unstemmed | Racial disparities in psychological distress in post-apartheid South Africa: results from the SANHANES-1 survey |
title_short | Racial disparities in psychological distress in post-apartheid South Africa: results from the SANHANES-1 survey |
title_sort | racial disparities in psychological distress in post-apartheid south africa: results from the sanhanes-1 survey |
topic | Original Paper |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8494453/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34617128 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00127-021-02175-w |
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