The association between neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and mental health in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review

Abstract

Background:

Environmental research on mental health primarily originates from high-income countries, while information about the rest of the world remains limited.

Aims:

This study examined: (1) the available published research evidence regarding the association between neighborhood-level deprivation and indicators of mental health and illness in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and (2) the gaps in the relevant research in LMIC settings that should be addressed in future studies.

Method:

First, we systematically searched for relevant primary studies in electronic databases (Ovid Medline, Scopus, Socindex, and PsycINFO) and citations in the reference lists. Then, a two-stage screening procedure was employed to select the relevant studies by screening the titles and abstracts and reviewing the selected full texts by independent researchers. After charting the data from the selected study reports, we collated, summarized, and discussed the results.

Results:

We retrieved 51 studies across 19 LMICs, with only one study originating from a low-income country. Most studies focused on adult mental health topics and few explored children’s mental health. Notably, a significant majority of these studies (N = 37) reported a positive association between neighborhood deprivation and mental health/disorder. However, the research methods used varied significantly, and there were several methodological limitations.

Conclusions:

This review highlights the need for more original studies in LMICs on the association between neighborhood deprivation and mental health, employing stronger methodologies.

Keywords

Neighborhood deprivation mental health low-and-middle income countries

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Aghaei

A. M.

Wissow

Mojtabai

Zarafshan

Shahrivar

Nikzad

A. H.

Sharifi

(2023). Parental objective, subjective, and contextual socioeconomic status and children’s mental health in Iran: The mediating effect of the subjective measure. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 17(2), e133044. https://doi.org/10.5812/ijpbs-133044

Ahern

Galea

(2011). Collective efficacy and major depression in urban neighborhoods. American Journal of Epidemiology, 173, 1453–1462. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwr030

Anderson

J. C.

Gerbing

D. W.

(1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), Article 411.

Andrade

L. H.

Wang

Y.-P.

Andreoni

Silveira

C. M.

Alexandrino-Silva

Siu

E. R.

Nishimura

Anthony

J. C.

Gattaz

W. F.

Kessler

R. C.

Viana

M. C.

(2012). Mental disorders in megacities: Findings from the Sao Paulo megacity mental health survey, Brazil. PLoS ONE, 7(2), Article e31879. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0031879

Arksey

O’Malley

(2005). Scoping studies: Towards a methodological framework. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8(1), 19–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364557032000119616

Arku

Luginaah

Mkandawire

Baiden

Asiedu

A. B.

(2011). Housing and health in three contrasting neighbourhoods in Accra, Ghana. Social Science & Medicine, 72(11), 1864–1872. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.03.023

Awanyo

McCarron

Attua

(2017). Breaking the silence: Housing and psychosocial health inequalities in three urban neighbourhoods of Accra, Ghana. International Development Planning Review, 39(3), 275–297. https://doi.org/10.3828/idpr.2017.8

Axinn

W. G.

Choi

K. W.

Ghimire

D. J.

Cole

Hermosilla

Benjet

Morgenstern

M. C.

Lee

Y. H.

Smoller

J. W.

(2022). Community-level social support infrastructure and adult onset of major depressive disorder in a South Asian postconflict setting. JAMA Psychiatry, 79(3), 243–249. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.4052

Baldwin

Mussweiler

(2018). The culture of social comparison. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115(39), E9067–E9074. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1721555115

10.

Binbay

Drukker

Alptekin

Elbi

Aksu Tanik

Ozkinay

Onay

Zağlı

van Os

. (2012). Evidence that the wider social environment moderates the association between familial liability and psychosis spectrum outcome. Psychological Medicine, 42(12), 2499–2510. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291712000700

11.

Binbay

Erel

Set

R. T.

Kirli

Ergul

Elbi

Alptekin

(2023). The association of social inequality with the onset, persistence, and progression of psychotic experiences along the extended psychosis phenotype: A 6-year follow-up study in a community-based sample. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-023-02422-2

12.

Bisung

Kangmennaang

Luginaah

(2018). Neighborhood structural differences and women’s mental health: An empirical study in Accra, Ghana. Quality of Life Research, 27(3), 661–671. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-017-1731-1

13.

Borges

Lown

E. A.

Orozco

Cherpitel

C. J.

(2019). The relationship between social inequalities, substance use and violence in border and non-border cities of northern Mexico. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 200, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.02.029

14.

Burrows

Laflamme

(2005). Living circumstances of suicide mortality in a South African city: An ecological study of differences across race groups and sexes. Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior, 35(5), 592–603.

15.

Chiavegatto Filho

A. D. P.

Sampson

Martins

S. S.

Huang

Lee

Zaslavsky

Kessler

R. C.

Galea

. (2017). Neighbourhood characteristics and mental disorders in three Chinese cities: multilevel models from the World Mental Health Surveys. BMJ Open, 7(10), Article e017679. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-017679

16.

Cifuentes

Sembajwe

Tak

Gore

Kriebel

Punnett

(2008). The association of major depressive episodes with income inequality and the human development index. Social Science & Medicine, 67(4), 529–539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.04.003

17.

Cramm

J. M.

Moller

Nieboer

A. P.

(2012). Individual- and neighbourhood-level indicators of subjective well-being in a small and poor eastern cape township: The effect of health, social capital, marital status, and income. Social Indicators Research, 105(3), 581–593. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-011-9790-0

18.

Cuartas

Grogan-Kaylor

Castillo

(2019). Civil conflict, domestic violence, and poverty as predictors of corporal punishment in Colombia. Child Abuse & Neglect, 90, 108–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.02.003

19.

Dalal

Wang

Svanstrom

(2014). Intimate partner violence against women in Nepal: an analysis through individual, empowerment, family and societal level factors. Journal of Research in Health Sciences, 14(4), 251–257.

20.

Dowdall

Ward

C. L.

Lund

(2017). The association between neighbourhood-level deprivation and depression: Evidence from the South African national income dynamics study. BMC Psychiatry, 17(1), Article 395. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-017-1561-2

21.

Duthe

Rossier

Bonnet

Soura

A. B.

Corker

(2016). Mental health and urban living in sub-Saharan Africa: Major depressive episodes among the urban poor in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Population Health Metrics, 14, Article 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12963-016-0084-2

22.

Fidalgo

T. M.

Sanchez

Z. M.

Caetano

S. C.

Andreoni

Sanudo

Chen

Martins

S. S.

(2018). Exposure to violence: Associations with psychiatric disorders in Brazilian youth. Revista brasileira de psiquiatria, 40(3), 277–283. https://doi.org/10.1590/1516-4446-2016-2122

23.

Fleitlich

Goodman

(2001). Social factors associated with child mental health problems in Brazil: Cross sectional survey. BMJ, 323(7313), 599–600. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.323.7313.599

24.

Fone

White

Farewell

Kelly

John

Lloyd

Williams

Dunstan

(2014). Effect of neighbourhood deprivation and social cohesion on mental health inequality: A multilevel population-based longitudinal study. Psychological Medicine, 44(11), 2449–2460. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291713003255

25.

Freeman

Stansfeld

(2008). The impact of the environment on psychiatric disorders. Routledge.

26.

Gage

A. J.

(2005). Women’s experience of intimate partner violence in Haiti. Social Science and Medicine, 61(2), 343–364.

27.

Gebara

C. F. D. P.

Ferri

C. P.

Bhona

F. M. D. C.

Vieira

M. D. T.

Lourenco

L. M.

Noto

A. R.

(2017). Psychosocial factors associated with mother-child violence: A household survey. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 52(1), 77–86. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-016-1298-0

28.

Gebara

C. F. D. P.

Ferri

C. P.

Bhona

F. M. D. C.

Vieira

M. D. T.

Lourenço

L. M.

Noto

A. R.

(2020). Violence between different members in the family system: A household survey in a Brazilian City. Journal of Family Issues, 41(8), 1237–1257.

29.

Ghasemi

S. R.

Zangeneh

Rajabi-Gilan

Reshadat

Saeidi

Ziapour

(2019). Health-related quality of life in informal settlements in Kermanshah, Islamic Republic of Iran: role of poverty and perception of family socioeconomic status. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 25(11), 775–783. https://doi.org/10.26719/emhj.19.013

30.

Yang

Wang

Wei

(2020). An exploratory study of neighbourhood heterogeneity in health: evidence from China. Local Environment, 25(10), 787–809. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2020.1837761

31.

Jin

Zhu

(2020). Social causation or social selection? The longitudinal interrelationship between poverty and depressive symptoms in China. Social Science & Medicine, 249, Article 112848. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112848

32.

Kalichman

S. C.

Simbayi

L. C.

Kagee

Toefy

Jooste

Cain

Cherry

(2006). Associations of poverty, substance use, and HIV transmission risk behaviors in three South African communities. Social Science & Medicine, 62(7), 1641–1649.

33.

Karriker-Jaffe

K. J.

(2011). Areas of disadvantage: A systematic review of effects of area-level socioeconomic status on substance use outcomes. Drug and Alcohol Review, 30(1), 84–95. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-3362.2010.00191.x

34.

Keskinoglu

Pycakcyefe

Bilgic

Giray

Karakus

Ucku

(2007). Elder abuse and neglect in two different socioeconomic districts in Izmir, Turkey. International Psychogeriatrics, 19(4), 719–731.

35.

Kiss

Schraiber

L. B.

Heise

Zimmerman

Gouveia

Watts

(2012). Gender-based violence and socioeconomic inequalities: Does living in more deprived neighbourhoods increase women’s risk of intimate partner violence? Social Science & Medicine, 74(8), 1172–1179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.11.033

36.

Koenig

M. A.

Ahmed

Hossain

M. B.

Alam Mozumder

A. B. M. K

. (2003). Women’s status and domestic violence in rural Bangladesh: Individual- and community-level effects. Demography, 40(2), 269–288.

37.

Leventhal

Brooks-Gunn

(2000). The neighborhoods they live in: The effects of neighborhood residence on child and adolescent outcomes. Psychological Bulletin, 126(2), 309–337. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.126.2.309

38.

Jiang

Yin

(2018). Understanding the relationship between poverty and children’s mental health in poverty-stricken area of China: Social causation or social selection? Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27(4), 1186–1192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0960-9

39.

L. W.

Liu

Zhang

(2015). Late-life depression in Rural China: Do village infrastructure and availability of community resources matter? International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 30(7), 729–736. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.4217

40.

L. W.

Zhang

Liu

(2016). An ecological study of social fragmentation, socioeconomic deprivation, and suicide in rural China: 2008–2010. SSM - Population Health, 2, 365–372.

41.

Wang

Morrow-Howell

(2021). Neighborhood effects on the health of Chinese older adults: Beyond the rural and urban dichotomy. The Gerontologist, 61(3), 403–412. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnaa081

42.

Zhao

(2021). Education, neighbourhood context and depression of elderly Chinese. Urban Studies, 58(16), 3354–3370. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098021989948

43.

Lund

De Silva

Plagerson

Cooper

Chisholm

Das

Knapp

Patel

(2011). Poverty and mental disorders: Breaking the cycle in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet, 378(9801), 1502–1514. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60754-X

44.

Luo

Zhang

Pang

Guo

Zheng

(2019). Individual-level and area-level socioeconomic status (SES) and schizophrenia: Cross-sectional analyses using the evidence from 1.9 million Chinese adults. BMJ Open, 9(9), Article e026532. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-026532

45.

Yuan

(2021). Neighborhood environment, internet use and mental distress among older adults: The case of Shanghai, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(7), Article 3616. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18073616

46.

Miao

Sun

(2019). Neighborhood, social cohesion, and the Elderly’s depression in Shanghai. Social Science & Medicine, 229, 134–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.08.022

47.

Moreira

T. C.

Belmonte

E. L.

Vieira

F. R.

Noto

A. R.

Ferigolo

Barros

H. M.

(2008). Community violence and alcohol abuse among adolescents: A sex comparison. Jornal de pediatria, 84(3), 244–250. https://doi.org/10.2223/JPED.1795

48.

Mullings

J. A.

McCaw-Binns

A. M.

Archer

Wilks

(2013). Gender differences in the effects of urban neighborhood on depressive symptoms in Jamaica. Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American Journal of Public Health, 34(6), 385–392.

49.

Orozco

Benjet

Ruiz Velasco-Acosta

Moreno Altamirano

Karriker-Jaffe

K. J.

Zemore

Cherpitel

Borges

(2017). Area-level disadvantage and alcohol use disorder in northern Mexico. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 175, 219–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.02.011

50.

Panel on Research Ethics TCPS 2. (2018). Chapter 2: Scope and approach. https://ethics.gc.ca/eng/tcps2-eptc2_2018_chapter2-chapitre2.html

51.

Parks

M. J.

(2014). Urban poverty traps: Neighbourhoods and violent victimisation and offending in Nairobi, Kenya. Urban Studies, 51(9), 1812–1832.

52.

Peters

M. D.

Godfrey

C. M.

Khalil

McInerney

Parker

Soares

C. B.

(2015). Guidance for conducting systematic scoping reviews. International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare, 13(3), 141–146. https://doi.org/10.1097/XEB.0000000000000050

53.

Prencipe

Houweling

T. A.

van Lenthe

F. J.

Palermo

T. M.

Kajula

(2021). Exploring multilevel social determinants of depressive symptoms for Tanzanian adolescents: Evidence from a cross-sectional study. Journal of epidemiology and community health, 75(10), 944–954. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2020-216200

54.

Rutter

(2006). Genes and behavior: Nature–nurture interplay explained. Blackwell Publishing.

55.

Sampson

Martins

S. S.

Chiavegatto Filho

A. D. P.

Andrade

L. H.

Viana

M. C.

Medina-Mora

M. E.

Benjet

Torres

Piazza

Aguilar-Gaxiola

Cia

A. H.

Stagnaro

J. C.

Zaslavsky

A. M.

Kessler

R. C.

Galea

(2019). The relationship between neighborhood-level socioeconomic characteristics and individual mental disorders in five cities in Latin America: Multilevel models from the World Mental Health Surveys. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 54(2), 157–170. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-018-1595-x

56.

Santana

G. L.

Coelho

B. M.

Wang

Y.-P.

Chiavegatto Filho

A. D. P.

Viana

M. C.

Andrade

L. H.

(2018). The epidemiology of personality disorders in the Sao Paulo Megacity general population. PLoS ONE, 13(4), Article e0195581. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0195581

57.

Sharan

Gallo

Gureje

Lamberte

Mari

J. J.

Mazzotti

Patel

Swartz

Olifson

Levav

de Francisco

Saxena

, & World Health Organization-Global Forum for Health Research - Mental Health Research Mapping Project Group. (2009). Mental health research priorities in low- and middle-income countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 195(4), 354–363. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.108.050187

58.

Shareck

Aube

Sersli

(2023). Neighborhood physical and social environments and social inequalities in health in older adolescents and young adults: A scoping review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(8), Article 5474. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20085474

59.

Sharifi

Patten

S. B.

Amini

McClurg

(2022). The effect of neighborhood deprivation on mental health in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review protocol. https://prism.ucalgary.ca/items/c43e4c02-576c-4604-b177-039e58135100

60.

Shaw

Jana

Kundu

(2022). An analytical pathway of consumption expenditure with neighborhood deprivation and depression on cognitive health among elderly in India: A moderated mediation approach. Journal of Affective Disorders, 308, 249–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.04.060

61.

Silveira

C. M.

Siu

E. R.

Anthony

J. C.

Saito

L. P.

de Andrade

A. G.

Kutschenko

Viana

M. C.

Wang

Y. P.

Martins

S. S.

Andrade

L. H.

(2014). Drinking patterns and alcohol use disorders in Sao Paulo, Brazil: The role of neighborhood social deprivation and socioeconomic status. PLoS ONE, 9(10), Article e108355. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0108355

62.

Sui

Ettema

Helbich

(2022). Longitudinal associations between the neighborhood social, natural, and built environment and mental health: A systematic review with meta-analyses. Health & Place, 77, Article 102893. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2022.102893

63.

Tofani

A. A.

Lamarca

G. d. A.

Sheiham

Vettore

M. V.

(2015). The different effects of neighbourhood and individual social capital on health-compromising behaviours in women during pregnancy: A multi-level analysis. BMC Public Health, 15, Article 890. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-2213-4

64.

Townsend

Phillimore

Beattie

(1988). Health and deprivation: Inequality and the North. Routledge.

65.

Tricco

A. C.

Lillie

Zarin

O’Brien

K. K.

Colquhoun

Levac

Moher

Peters

M. D. J.

Horsley

Weeks

Hempel

Akl

E. A.

Chang

McGowan

Stewart

Hartling

Aldcroft

Wilson

M. G.

Garritty

, . . . Straus

S. E.

(2018). PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR): Checklist and explanation. Annals of Internal Medicine, 169(7), 467–473. https://doi.org/10.7326/M18-0850

66.

Valdes

Berens

A. E.

Nelson

C. A.

3rd . (2021). Socioeconomic and psychological correlates of postpartum depression at 6 months in Dhaka, Bangladesh. International Journal of Psychology, 56(5), 729–738. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12735

67.

Visser

Bolt

Finkenauer

Jonker

Weinberg

Stevens

(2021). Neighbourhood deprivation effects on young people’s mental health and well-being: A systematic review of the literature. Social Science & Medicine, 270, Article 113542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113542

68.

Vyas

Heise

(2016). How do area-level socioeconomic status and gender norms affect partner violence against women? Evidence from Tanzania. International Journal of Public Health, 61(8), 971–980.

69.

World Bank Blogs. (2022). New World Bank country classifications by income level: 2022–2023. https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/new-world-bank-country-classifications-income-level-2022-2023

70.

Yip

N. M.

Leung

T. T. F.

Huang

(2013). Impact of community on personal well-being in urban China. Journal of Social Service Research, 39(5), 675–689. https://doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2013.805180

71.

Zahir Izuan

Shamsul Azhar

Tan

M. K. S.

Syed-Sharizman

S. A. R

. (2018). Neighbourhood influences and its association with the mental health of adolescents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 38, 35–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2018.10.018s

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.02 MB