Harvard Pop Center Director of Research & Research Scientist Elyse Jennings, recent Harvard Bell Fellow Leslie Adams, and senior data scientist at the University of Cape Town Chido Chinogurei have co-authored a study published in Social Science & Medicine – Mental Health (SSM-MH) that found that experiencing a marital dissolution was associated with more depressive symptoms than remaining married for both men and women, and men (but not women) reported greater depressive symptoms if they remained separated/divorced, widowed, or never married between the two waves of data collection. This publication is one of many by researchers affiliated with Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI) project that is aiming to deepen the understanding of the physical and mental health challenges faced by an older population in rural South Africa, a population that has been impacted by apartheid, as well as communicable and non-communicable diseases, and the mental health challenges that go along with aging.
What affects the mental health of a population that is now growing older in sub-Saharan Africa?
