Citation
Jayaweera, Ruvani T.; Goin, Dana E.; Twine, Rhian; Neilands, Torsten B.; Wagner, Ryan G.; Lippman, Sheri A.; Kahn, Kathleen; Pettifor, Audrey E.; & Ahern, Jennifer (2022). Associations Between WASH-Related Violence and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescent Girls and Young Women in South Africa (HPTN 068): A Cross-Sectional Analysis. BMJ Open, 12(7), e061032. PMCID: PMC9258484Abstract
OBJECTIVE: There is a lack of research on experiences of WASH-related violence. This study aims to quantify the association between experience or worry of violence when using the toilet or collecting water and depressive symptoms among a cohort of young women in South Africa.METHODS: Data are from visit 3 of the HPTN 068 cohort of adolescent girls in rural Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Participants (n=1798) included in this analysis were aged 13-21 at baseline. Lifetime experience of violence or fear of violence when using the toilet and collecting water was collected by self-report; depressive symptoms in the past week were measured using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). We used G-computation to calculate the prevalence difference (PD) and prevalence ratio of depression (CES-D score >15) associated with each domain of violence, controlling for baseline covariates.
FINDINGS: A total of 15.1% of respondents reported experiencing violence when using the toilet; 17.1% reported experiencing violence when collecting water and 26.7% reported depression. In adjusted models, those who reported experiencing violence when using the toilet had an 18.1% higher prevalence of depression (95% CI: 11.6% to 24.4%) than those who did not experience violence when using the toilet. Adjusted prevalence of depression was also higher among those who reported violence when collecting water (PD 11.9%, 95% CI: 6.7% to 17.2%), and who worried about violence when using the toilet (PD 12.8%, 95% CI: 7.9% to 19.8%), as compared with those who did not report these experiences. Worrying about violence when collecting water was not associated with depression after adjusting for covariates.
CONCLUSION: Experience of WASH-related violence is common among young women in rural South Africa, and experience or worry of experiencing violence is associated with higher prevalence of depressive symptoms.
URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-061032Reference Type
Journal ArticleYear Published
2022Journal Title
BMJ OpenAuthor(s)
Jayaweera, Ruvani T.Goin, Dana E.
Twine, Rhian
Neilands, Torsten B.
Wagner, Ryan G.
Lippman, Sheri A.
Kahn, Kathleen
Pettifor, Audrey E.
Ahern, Jennifer