Working Paper: NBER ID: w13217
Authors: Janet Currie; Mark Stabile
Abstract: Although mental disorders are common among children, we know little about their long term effects on child outcomes. This paper examines U.S. and Canadian children with symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), depression, conduct disorders, and other behavioral problems. Our work offers a number of innovations. First we use large nationally representative samples of children from both countries. Second, we focus on "screeners" that were administered to all children in our sample, rather than on diagnosed cases. Third, we address omitted variables bias by estimating sibling-fixed effects models. Fourth, we examine a range of outcomes. Fifth, we ask how the effects of mental health conditions are mediated by family income and maternal education. We find that mental health conditions, and especially ADHD, have large negative effects on future test scores and schooling attainment, regardless of family income and maternal education.
Keywords: mental health; childhood; human capital; ADHD; education
JEL Codes: I1; I2
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Childhood mental health conditions (I12) | Future educational outcomes (I21) |
| ADHD (D91) | Future educational outcomes (I21) |
| Hyperactivity scores (Y10) | Probability of grade repetition (C29) |
| Hyperactivity scores (Y10) | Math scores (C12) |
| Conduct disorders (K42) | Future educational outcomes (I21) |
| Anxiety and depression (I12) | Probability of grade repetition (C29) |
| Anxiety and depression (I12) | Cognitive performance on tests (D29) |
| Childhood mental health conditions (I12) | Grade repetition (A23) |
| Childhood mental health conditions (I12) | Cognitive performance (D91) |