Abstract
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.