Working Paper: NBER ID: w22229
Authors: Petra Persson; Maya Rossin-Slater
Abstract: This paper studies how in utero exposure to maternal stress from family ruptures affects later mental health. We find that prenatal exposure to the death of a maternal relative increases take-up of ADHD medications during childhood and anti-anxiety and depression medications in adulthood. Further, family ruptures during pregnancy depress birth outcomes and raise the risk of perinatal complications necessitating hospitalization. Our results suggest large welfare gains from preventing fetal stress from family ruptures and possibly from economically induced stressors such as unemployment. They further suggest that greater stress exposure among the poor may partially explain the intergenerational persistence of poverty.
Keywords: Maternal Stress; Mental Health; Family Ruptures; Intergenerational Effects
JEL Codes: I10; I31; J13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| In utero exposure to the death of a maternal relative (J13) | Likelihood of purchasing ADHD medications (I11) |
| In utero exposure to the death of a maternal relative (J13) | Average daily dose of ADHD medications (Y10) |
| In utero exposure to the death of a maternal relative (J13) | Likelihood of consuming antianxiety medications in adulthood (I12) |
| In utero exposure to the death of a maternal relative (J13) | Average daily doses of antianxiety medications in adulthood (I19) |
| In utero exposure to the death of a maternal relative (J13) | Likelihood of consuming depression medications in adulthood (I12) |
| In utero exposure to the death of a maternal relative (J13) | Average daily doses of depression medications in adulthood (I12) |
| Prenatal exposure to maternal stress (J13) | Adverse birth outcomes (J13) |
| Maternal bereavement (J12) | Hospitalization rates for conditions originating in the perinatal period during the first year of life (I12) |