Louise de Gaudemaris

Research field(s)

PhD thesis title: Explaining the impact of poverty on depression: the role of gender over the life cycle in Ghana

There is growing evidence that poverty increases depression rates. There is also indication that gender and age are linked to both poverty and depression. However, the interactions between poverty, gender and depression over the life cycle are understudied in low- and middle-income countries, despite the large health, economic and social costs of depression. The objective of my PhD is to tackle this knowledge gap by analyzing these interactions in Ghana. I will first assess whether there is a gender-specific impact of poverty on depression, and examine what mechanisms are driving this effect. I will then study whether this potentially gendered impact evolves over an individual's life cycle, and whether the mechanisms are different at different ages. To answer these questions in the context of Ghana, I will use two longitudinal datasets: the Socioeconomic Panel Survey (SEP) and the Study on Global AGEing and adult health (SAGE). The results from these analyses will then help me to develop precise recommendations on how to design gender- and age-sensitive poverty-reduction interventions that take mental health into account.