Agricultural wealth better predicts mental wellbeing than market wealth among highly vulnerable households in Haiti: Evidence for the benefits of a multidimensional approach to poverty

The relationship between mental well-being and wealth varies by wealth type, place and sex/gender: Evidence from Namibia

This paper explores the impact of livelihood strategies and place on mental well-being. Identifying different socioeconomic factors that impact mental well-being across contexts is pressing given the global rise in mental health disorders. Numerous studies in the population and social sciences have emphasized the protective role of material wealth on human health and well-being; however, scholars frequently assess wealth as a one-dimensional variable, which may fail to capture diverse forms of wealth. Acknowledging different forms of wealth may be particularly important in settings where agricultural economies coexist with cash economies. Using data from the 2013 Namibia Demographic Health Survey (n = 13 377), we use a newly developed measure of success in agricultural activities, an agricultural wealth index, or AWI, generated by Hackman et al., (2021). To examine the role of different forms of wealth on mental health symptoms. We find mental well-being, assessed through three survey questions, is lower among urban dwellers and females and shows varied associations with wealth type and sex/gender. In general, success in agricultural activities is associated with better mental well-being, while the association with market success is null or and conditional upon sex/gender and place. This study adds to recent work on the value of using multidimensional measures of wealth and raises important questions about why wealth type and sex/gender differentially impact mental well-being.

Human biology and the study of precarity: How the intersection of uncertainty and inequality is taking us to new extremes

Inequality represents an extreme environment to which humans must respond. One phenomenon that contributes to this growing extreme is precarity or the intersection of uncertainty and some form of inequality. While precarity has an important intellectual history in the fields of sociology and sociocultural anthropology, it has not been well studied in the field of human biology. Rather human biologists have engaged with the study of closely related concepts such as uncertainty and resource insecurity. In this article, we propose that human biology take on the study of precarity as a novel way of investigating inequality. We first provide a brief intellectual history of precarity which is followed by a review of research on uncertainty and resource security in human biology which, while not exhaustive, illustrates some key gaps that precarity may aid us in addressing. We then review some of the pathways through which precarity comes to affect human biology and health and some of the evidence for why the unpredictable nature of precarity may make it a unique physiological stress. A case study based on research in Nuñoa, Peru provides an important example of how precarity can elucidate the influences of health in an extreme setting, albeit with insights that apply more broadly. We conclude that precarity holds important potential for the study of human biology, including helping us more effectively operationalize and study uncertainty, encouraging us to explore the predictability of resources and stressors, and reminding us to think about the intersectional nature of stressors.

Subjective social status and mental health among adolescents in Ethiopia: Evidence from a panel study

Numerous studies have found that a relationship between subjective status and measures of human health persists even after controlling for objective measures, including income, education, and assets. However, few studies have probed how status shapes health among adolescents, particularly those in low-and-middle-income settings. This study examines the relative effects of subjective and objective status on mental health among Ethiopian adolescents. Using data from two waves of the Jimma Longitudinal Family Survey of Youth (N = 1,045), this study uses a combination of linear regression and linear mixed-effects models to examine the relationships between objective social status, subjective social status, and mental well-being among adolescents in Ethiopia. Three measures of objective status, including household income, adolescent education, and a multidimensional measure of material wealth, were assessed. Social network and support variables were constructed using factor analysis. A community version of the 10-rung McArthur ladder was used to assess the subjective socioeconomic status of adolescents. The self-reporting questionnaire was used to assess mental well-being during both waves of the study. The significant effect of higher subjective status on reports of fewer non-specific psychological distress (-0.28; 95% CI: -0.43 to -0.14) was not mediated by objective status, material deprivation, or social support covariates. The observed relationship between status and mental well-being was consistent across successive study waves. Among a cohort of adolescents in Jimma, Ethiopia, several measures of objective status are associated with subjective status. However, akin to research among adults, the findings of our study suggest that the relationship between adolescent subjective social status and mental health persists above and beyond the effects of objective status. Future research is needed on the factors, environments, and experiences that inform adolescent perceptions of status and well-being over time.

Assessing comparative asset-based measures of material wealth as predictors of physical growth and mortality

Social scientists and policymakers have increasingly relied on asset-based indices of household wealth to assess social disparities and to identify economically vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income countries. In the last decade, researchers have proposed a number of asset-based measures that permit global comparisons of household wealth across populations in different countries and over time. Each of these measures relies on different assumptions and indicators, and little is known about the relative performance of these measures in assessing disparities. In this study, we assess four comparative, asset-based measures of wealth-the Absolute Wealth Estimate (AWE), the International Wealth Index (IWI), the Comparative Wealth Index (CWI), and the "Standard of Living" portion of the Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index (MPI), along with a variable measuring television ownership-and compare how well each predicts health related variables such as women's BMI, children's height-for-age Z scores, and infant mortality at the household and survey level. Analyzing data from over 300 Demographic and Health surveys in 84 countries (n = 2,304,928 households), we found that AWE, IWI, CWI, MPI are all highly correlated (r = 0.7 to 0.9). However, IWI which is based on a common set of universally weighted indicators, typically best accounts for variation in all three health measures. We discuss the implications of these findings for choosing and interpreting these measures of wealth for different purposes.

Characterizing multidimensional poverty in Migori County, Kenya and its association with depression

INTRODUCTION

Narrow, unidimensional measures of poverty often fail to measure true poverty and inadequately capture its drivers. Multidimensional indices of poverty more accurately capture the diversity of poverty. There is little research regarding the association between multidimensional poverty and depression.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was administered in five sub-locations in Migori County, Kenya. A total of 4,765 heads of household were surveyed. Multidimensional poverty indices were used to determine the association of poverty with depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) depression screening tool.

RESULTS

Across the geographic areas surveyed, the overall prevalence of household poverty (deprivation headcount) was 19.4%, ranging from a low of 13.6% in Central Kamagambo to a high of 24.6% in North Kamagambo. Overall multidimensional poverty index varied from 0.053 in Central Kamagambo to 0.098 in North Kamagambo. Of the 3,939 participants with depression data available, 481 (12.2%) met the criteria for depression based on a PHQ-8 depression score ≥10. Poverty showed a dose-response association with depression.

CONCLUSIONS

Multidimensional poverty indices can be used to accurately capture poverty in rural Kenya and to characterize differences in poverty across areas. There is a clear association between multidimensional poverty and depressive symptoms, including a dose effect with increasing poverty intensity. This supports the importance of multifaceted poverty policies and interventions to improve wellbeing and reduce depression.

Associations between socioprovincial factors and self-reported mental disorders among students from grade 4 to 8 in rural China

Background

The focus on child mental health in developing countries was increasing. However, little was known in China. This study aimed to explore the associations between socioprovincial factors and self-reported mental disorders in rural China.

Methods

Data were from a publicly available survey with 54,498 students from Grade 4 to 8 in rural China. Chi-square test was used for descriptive analysis. Self-reported mental disorders included overall mental disorder, study anxiety, personal anxiety, loneliness, guilt, sensitivity, symptomatic psychosis, phobia, and impulsivity. Multiple logistic regressions and errors-in-variables regression models were employed to explore the associations between socioprovincial factors and mental disorders. Poisson regressions and errors-in-variables regression models were adopted to reveal the associations between socioprovincial factors and number of self-reported mental disorders.

Results

Descriptive statistics showed that mental health was poor in rural adolescents in China. Logistic regression showed that the odds of overall mental disorder and study anxiety were 189% (AOR = 2.89, 95%CI: 2.76, 3.02) and 92% (OR = 1.92, 95%CI: 1.84, 2.00) in Gansu more than those in Anhui, while the odds of personal anxiety, guilt, sensitivity, symptomatic psychosis, and phobia were 92% (AOR = 0.08, 95%CI: 0.08, 0.09), 71% (AOR = 0.29, 95%CI: 0.27, 0.30), 88% (AOR = 0.12, 95%CI: 0.11, 0.13), 69% (AOR = 0.31, 95%CI: 0.29, 0.32), and 78% (AOR = 0.22, 95%CI: 0.21, 0.23) in Gansu less than those in Anhui. Moreover, Gansu (Poisson regression: IRR =1.45, 95%CI: 1.42–1.47; errors-in-variables regression: Coefficient = 0.26, 95%CI: 0.16, 0.36), Ningxia (Poisson regression: IRR =1.63, 95%CI: 1.60–1.67; errors-in-variables regression: Coefficient = 0.43, 95%CI: 0.32, 0.53), Qinghai (Poisson regression: IRR =1.65, 95%CI: 1.60–1.69; errors-in-variables regression: Coefficient = 0.44, 95%CI: 0.34, 0.55), and Shaanxi (Poisson regression: IRR =1.28, 95%CI: 1.25–1.30; errors-in-variables regression: Coefficient = 0.11, 95%CI: 0.00, 0.21) were significantly associated with the number of self-reported mental disorders.

Conclusion

Class and provincial disparities in self-reported mental disorders were reported among the students from Grade 4 to 8 in rural China. Mental health care supported by governments and schools could be an effective way to reduce the disparities in mental disorders among the adolescents.