The Effect of Poverty on Depression Among Turkish Children

This study was conducted to determine the effect of poverty on depression among Turkish children. The data of the study were collected in 2019 by using a questionnaire. A total of 4276 children were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling in Ankara, Turkey. The questionnaire consisted of questions for determining the socio-demographic characteristics and health status of the children. It also included multidimensional poverty indicators (socioeconomic status of the family, Family Welfare Scale [FWS] and UNICEF Child Deprivation Index [U-CDI]) and Child Depression Inventory (CDI). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-Square Test and Binary Logistic Regression Analysis. Of the participants, 50.2% were girls, the average age was 12.94 ± 1.17 years, and 86.1% lived in a family with a medium level of socio-economic status. FWS scores showed that 37.7% of them had poor economic status. According to U-CDI, 48.1% of the children were deprived. CDI scores indicated that 34.5% of the children were depressed. In this study, living in a single-parent family (OR = 1.470), having a poor or moderate perception of health (OR = 2.095), having any disease (OR = 1.485), deprivation according to CDI (OR = 1.382), going to bed or school hungry from time to time (OR = 1.930) and working to earn money (OR = 2.450) were identified as important risk factors for high depression (p < 0.05). The multiple deprivation status of children is a major determinant of their depression levels.