Working Paper: NBER ID: w21240
Authors: Prashant Bharadwaj; Mallesh M. Pai; Agne Suziedelyte
Abstract: Comparing self-reports to administrative data records on diagnosis and prescription drug use, we find that survey respondents under-report mental health conditions 36% of the time when asked about diagnosis and about 20% of the time when asked about prescription drug use. Survey respondents are significantly less likely to under-report other conditions such as diabetes or hypertension. This behavior is consistent with a model in which mental health illnesses are stigmatized and agents have incentives to hide such traits from others. We show that differential under-reporting of depression is correlated with age, gender, and ethnicity and that these characteristics also predict a lower probability of mental health treatment, suggesting that stigma can play an important role in determining health-seeking behavior.
Keywords: mental health; stigma; underreporting; health-seeking behavior
JEL Codes: I1
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| stigma (J70) | underreporting of mental health conditions (I12) |
| stigma (J70) | health-seeking behavior (I12) |
| underreporting of mental health conditions (I12) | health-seeking behavior (I12) |
| demographic characteristics (J21) | underreporting of mental health conditions (I12) |
| age, gender, and ethnicity (J71) | underreporting of mental health conditions (I12) |
| stigma (J70) | misreporting of diagnosis (I12) |
| misreporting of diagnosis (I12) | health-seeking behavior (I12) |
| misreporting of prescription drug use (I10) | health-seeking behavior (I12) |