Childcare and depression during the coronavirus pandemic in South Africa: A gendered analysis

Background: The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in the closure of businesses and schools, the remote provision of services and the disruption of the services of professional childminders. These disruptions resulted in a significant increase in parental responsibility for childcare. Such a substantial increase in time requirements for childcare domestically has potential mental health consequences. We therefore ascertained the relationship between childcare and depression in South Africa during the pandemic. Methods: Data came from the National Income Dynamics Study-Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey, a longitudinal telephonic survey conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. The outcome was a depression index obtained from the two-item Patient Health Questionnaire while the main covariate was the average number of hours spent in taking care of children per weekday. We employed the ordered logit model. Findings: We found a positive relationship between spending more hours on childcare and worse depressive health for caregivers in both periods analyzed. Childcare responsibilities preventing/mitigating the ability of caregivers to work as well as preventing caregivers from searching for jobs moderated the depression-childcare relationship. Conclusion: These findings highlight the need to carefully consider policy responses aimed at containing the pandemic. We advocate a multi-stakeholder approach to mitigating the mental health impact of COVID-19 by encouraging more collaboration between government, school authorities, employers and parents/guardians.