Cross-country variation in the sociodemographic factors associated with major depressive episode in Norway, the United Kingdom, Ghana, and Kenya

Studies based on Western samples generally show that status characteristics like gender or marital status are associated with better mental health for individuals who occupy advantageous positions, such as men or the married. However, these patterns may not hold in developing regions that differ in important ways from the West. Guided by the Stress Process Model (SPM), this study uses logistic regression to examine the effect of gender, education, and other status characteristics on major depressive episode (MDE). Similarities and differences in these associations across two Western and two African countries are also assessed. Nationally representative data for adults ages 18 years and older are from the World Health Surveys (2002–2004) for Norway (N = 943), the United Kingdom (UK: N = 1195), Ghana (N = 3922), and Kenya (N = 4331). Results indicate a mixed pattern of associations between status characteristics and MDE across the four countries. Norwegian men face higher risk of MDE than Norwegian women—an anomalous finding. With some exceptions, education and employment status are not significantly related to MDE across the countries, providing little support for SPM. Marital status differences in risk of MDE are largest for Norway and smallest for Ghana. For the UK, men face lower risk of MDE than women across levels of mastery, and the gender gap in MDE is larger at higher levels of mastery. Overall, there is some heterogeneity in the associations between status characteristics and MDE even in somewhat similar environments like Ghana and Kenya. This study extends the reach of SPM to settings in sub-Saharan Africa, and contributes to the sparse empirical literature on the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of MDE in the general populations of Ghana and Kenya.