Household size and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: A gendered analysis

Abstract

The study explores the nature of the relationship between household size and depressive symptoms under COVID-19 strict lockdown conditions, when a surge in large-size households observed in South Africa. The study used nationally representative data to implement covariate balancing propensity scores within a multivalued treatment framework (by varying household size) to control for observables. While the study found that both solo living and large-sized households are positively associated with depressive symptoms for males, the depressive symptoms for females are not found to be strongly associated with household size. Further, the analysis indicates that the higher average depressive symptoms observed for males compared to females under the COVID-19 pandemic are largely driven by males in large-size households. The gendered effect points to the different roles that men and women continue to play within the household. The need for policy interventions to consider living arrangements is highlighted through this study.