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How do economic downturns affect the mental health of children? Evidence from the National Health Interview Survey
Author(s) -
Golberstein Ezra,
Gonzales Gilbert,
Meara Ellen
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
health economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.55
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1099-1050
pISSN - 1057-9230
DOI - 10.1002/hec.3885
Subject(s) - mental health , unemployment , affect (linguistics) , national health interview survey , psychology , psychiatry , medicine , health care , economic growth , economics , communication
Research linking economic conditions and health often does not consider children's mental health problems, which are the most common and consequential health issues for children and adolescents. We examine the effects of unemployment rates and housing prices on well‐validated child and adolescent mental health outcomes and use of special education services for emotional problems in the 2001–2013 National Health Interview Survey. We find that the effects of economic conditions on children's mental health are clinically and economically meaningful; children's mental health outcomes worsen as the economy weakens. The effects of economic conditions on child and adolescent mental health are pervasive, found in almost every subgroup that we examine. The use of special education services for emotional problems also rises when economic conditions worsen. Our analyses of possible mechanisms that link economic conditions to child mental health suggest that parental unemployment cannot fully explain the relationship between economic conditions and child mental health.