This paper investigates the link between household self-reliance and mental health outcomes, specifically depression symptoms and resilience, among forcibly displaced women in Colombia. As of 2023, Colombia hosts 6.9 million internally displaced people, 2.9 million forcibly displaced Venezuelan migrants, and 500,000 Colombian returnees.
The analysis utilizes baseline data collected in March 2024 from 348 women enrolled in HIAS’ Entrepreneurship School with a Gender Lens (ESGL) program. The ESGL initiative, developed by HIAS, addresses the specific needs of women at risk of or who have experienced gender-based violence (GBV). It supports participants in developing and incubating business ideas, provides small amounts of seed capital, and offers information, support, and services related to GBV and mental health.
The study specifically examines self-reliance, measured by the Self-Reliance Index (SRI), and its association with depressive symptoms, measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and resilience, measured by the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS). Additional individual-level covariates included in the regression analyses are age, a dichotomous variable indicating primary school completion, nationality (Colombian or Venezuelan), marital status, household size, and the dependency ratio, defined as the ratio of children and elderly to working-age adults in the household.
Main findings:
- Household self-reliance is inversely correlated with depressive symptoms in displaced women. A substantial increase in the Self-Reliance Index (SRI) by two standard deviations results in a relatively small decrease in the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score by 0.37 standard deviations. Key self-reliance domains that improve mental health include food security and financial stability (financial resources and debt).
- Resilience also predicts depression symptoms. An increase in the resilience score by one-half a standard deviation is associated with a decrease in the PHQ-9 score by 0.07 standard deviations.
- Women who reported feeling controlled by others exhibited higher levels of depression. The feeling of being controlled by one or more people is significantly and strongly associated with greater depression symptoms.
- There is no significant association between self-reliance and resilience. When including the SRI domain scores in the regression analyses, the employment score is the only domain statistically significantly associated with resilience.
- Participants who felt supported by their community had significantly higher resilience scores when controlling for other covariates. Although the SRI includes a domain on social capital, this domain is not statistically significantly associated with resilience, suggesting nuanced differences between having social capital and feeling supported by social networks.
This study underscores the critical role of household self-reliance in alleviating depression among forcibly displaced women in Colombia, particularly through improved food security, financial stability, and reduced debt. However, the absence of a significant association between self-reliance and resilience indicates that economic stability alone may not enhance the capacity to adapt to adversity. The findings also highlight the important impact of perceived control and community support on women’s mental well-being, with feelings of control linked to higher depression levels and community support enhancing resilience. These results suggest the need for holistic interventions that address both economic empowerment and the social environments surrounding displaced women.