1. Violence Victimization and Depressive Symptoms Among a Sub-Sample of Sexual and Gender Minority Adults in a Population-Based South African Study.
- Author
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Metheny, Nicholas, Mkhize, Sthembiso Pollen, Scott, Dalton, and Hatcher, Abigail
- Subjects
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CROSS-sectional method , *COMMUNITY health services , *VIOLENCE , *MENTAL health , *RESEARCH funding , *INTIMATE partner violence , *LOGISTIC regression analysis , *RESIDENTIAL patterns , *SOCIOECONOMIC factors , *INTERVIEWING , *QUESTIONNAIRES , *CHI-squared test , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *CHILD sexual abuse , *ODDS ratio , *QUALITY of life , *METROPOLITAN areas , *SEXUAL minorities , *SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC factors , *DATA analysis software , *CONFIDENCE intervals , *MENTAL depression , *EDUCATIONAL attainment , *EMPLOYMENT , *PSYCHOSOCIAL factors , *ADULTS - Abstract
Sexual and gender minority (SGM) adults in South Africa face high levels of violence and poor mental health outcomes. Interventions to prevent these negative health implications are hampered by a lack of representative data among this population. This study aims to quantify the associations between three forms of violent victimization and depressive symptoms in a sub-sample of SGM drawn from a population-based cross-sectional study in Gauteng, South Africa. Data come from the sixth Quality of Life survey conducted in South Africa's Gauteng province. Brief screeners assessed childhood sexual abuse (CSA), past-year intimate partner violence (IPV), non-partner violence, and depressive symptoms. Three survey-weighted logistic regression analyses were fit to model associations between elevated depressive symptoms and CSA, past-year IPV, and past-year non-partner violence, controlling for socio-demographics (age, race, sex, area of residence, education, socioeconomic status, and recent employment). N = 1,328 SGM respondents were included. Over 40% (n = 537) reported depressive symptoms, while 17% (n = 222) reported CSA, 5% (n = 67) reported IPV, and 16% (n = 208) reported non-partner violence. CSA and non-partner violence were associated with significantly higher odds of reporting depressive symptoms (aOR: 1.51, 95% CI [1.03, 2.23]; aOR: 1.84, [1.24, 2.73], respectively). IPV was not associated with elevated depressive symptoms (aOR: 1.17, [0.64, 2.16]). In all models, employment in the past 7 days was associated with significantly lower odds of reporting depressive symptoms. Recent and childhood violence is a major burden that is associated with elevated symptoms of depression among SGM in urban South Africa. Community-tailored interventions and policy-related advocacy related to employment and violence prevention may alleviate depressive symptoms in SGM adults in Gauteng. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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