Pathways to protection: understanding how cash transfers can protect the mental health of rural South African adolescents growing up in adversity
Summary
In South Africa (SA), depression is common in adolescents and has numerous immediate and long-term negative consequences. High exposure to adversity in childhood such as poverty and violence , contribute to the mental health burden among youth in SA. Cash transfer (CT) programs to alleviate poverty and its sequela are common throughout the African region. While there is a growing body of evidence that CTs are associated with better mental health outcomes in adults, there is less evidence as to whether and among whom cash transfers may reduce depression in adolescence. Additionally, the pathways through which such programs impact depression are not well understood, particularly for adolescents who have grown up with childhood adversities such as poverty and exposure to violence. We have a unique opportunity to conduct secondary analysis on extant data to elucidate the pathways through which cash transfers reduce depression in adolescent girls and to explore how cash transfers can moderate the relationship between childhood adversities such as poverty and violence and depression.