Working Paper: NBER ID: w30909
Authors: Seth M. Freedman; Kelli R. Marquardt; Dario Salcedo; Kosali I. Simon; Coady Wing
Abstract: We study how the societal disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic impacted diagnosis of a prevalent childhood mental health condition, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Using both nationwide private health insurance claims and a single state’s comprehensive electronic health records, we compare children exposed to the pandemic to same aged children prior to the pandemic. We find the pandemic reduced new ADHD diagnoses by 8.6% among boys and 11.0% among girls nationwide through February 2021. We further show that higher levels of in-person schooling in Fall 2020 dampened the decline for girls but had no moderating effect for boys.
Keywords: ADHD; COVID-19; child mental health; diagnosis; in-person schooling
JEL Codes: I01; I12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| school closures (J65) | recognition of ADHD symptoms (D91) |
| pandemic disruptions (F69) | pathways to diagnosis (Y80) |
| ADHD diagnosis rates (E47) | underdiagnosis for girls (J16) |
| ADHD diagnosis rates (E47) | overdiagnosis for boys (I12) |
| higher levels of in-person schooling (I23) | ADHD diagnosis rates for girls (J16) |
| pandemic disruptions (F69) | ADHD diagnosis rates (E47) |