A qualitative study of factors affecting mental health amongst low-income working mothers in Bangalore, India

Abstract

BackgroundLow-income urban working mothers face many challenges in their domestic, environmental, and working conditions that may affect their mental health. In India, a high prevalence of mental health disorders has been recorded in young women, but there has been little research to examine the factors that affect their mental health at home and work.MethodsThrough a primarily qualitative approach, we studied the relationship between work, caring for family, spousal support, stress relief strategies and mental health amongst forty eight low-income working mothers residing in urban slums across Bangalore, India. Participants were construction workers, domestic workers, factory workers and fruit and vegetable street vendors. Qualitative data analysis themes included state of mental health, factors that affected mental health positively or negatively, manifestations and consequences of stress and depression, and stress mitigators.ResultsEven in our small sample of women, we found evidence of extreme depression, including suicidal ideation and attempted suicide. Women who have an alcoholic and/or abusive husband, experience intimate partner violence, are raising children with special needs, and lack adequate support for child care appear to be more susceptible to severe and prolonged periods of depression and suicide attempts. Factors that pointed towards reduced anxiety and depression were social support from family, friends and colleagues and fulfilment from work.ConclusionThis qualitative study raises concerns that low-income working mothers in urban areas in India are at high risk for depression, and identifies common factors that create and mitigate stress in this population group. We discuss implications of the findings for supporting the mental health of urban working women in the Indian context. The development of the national mental health policy in India and its subsequent implementation should draw on existing research documenting factors associated with negative mental health amongst specific population groups in order to ensure greater impact.

Common mental disorder and its socio-demographic correlates among married women residing in slum areas of Bhubaneswar, India

“…This is in congruence with findings from various studies (Kumar et al 2005;Patel et al 2006;Shidhaye and Patel 2010). Travasso, Rajaraman, and Heymann (2014) also indicated in their qualitative study that slum women of Bangalore who had an alcoholic husband were more susceptible to severe and prolonged periods of depression and suicidal attempts. Patel et al (2006) showed that mental disorders were more frequent among women who experienced difficulty in managing financially, which is similar to our result.…”

Challenges of working mothers: balancing motherhood and profession

“…A study conducted among working mothers by Sandra Mary Travasso et al, reported that, lack of adequate support for child care appear to be more susceptible to severe and prolonged periods of depression. 21 The finding is similar to our study.…”

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