# Prevalence of depressive symptoms among teachers in the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa

## TL;DR

This study found that nearly half of teachers in Tshwane, South Africa, show depressive symptoms, pointing to mental health as a critical issue in schools.

## Contribution

The study provides new prevalence data on depressive symptoms among teachers in a specific South African municipality.

## Key findings

- 50.25% of teachers in Tshwane showed depressive symptoms.
- Being married and teaching Grade 12 were associated with depressive symptoms.
- Most teachers did not seek mental health help in the past six months.

## Abstract

Depression is a significant contributor to the overall burden of mental disorders. The workplace has been identified as a notable source of depression, which includes the school environment. Mental disorders among teachers, especially if undiagnosed and untreated, contribute to compromised teaching and learning outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms among teachers in the Tshwane Municipality, South Africa.

Tshwane Municipality, South Africa.

The Patient Health Questionnaire was used to screen depressive symptoms; a quantitative questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic data; and Stata 14 was used to analyse the data.

Most of the participants (n = 299, 75.13%) were female and married (n = 223, 56.03%), with a mean age of 39.5 years (standard deviation [SD] 12.4). The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 50.25% (n = 200). Being married, teaching Grade 12 and not seeking professional mental help within the previous 6 months were associated with the presence of depressive symptoms (p ≤ 0.05).

The findings of this study indicate a high prevalence of depressive symptoms among teachers in the Tshwane Municipality, highlighting depression as a significant mental health concern within the school environment.

This study confirmed the high prevalence of depressive symptoms among both primary and high school teachers and across the three districts of the Tshwane Municipality.