Child Mental Health, Family Circumstance, and Long-Term Success The Effect of Household Income

We use data from a long-running experiment in which American Indian households received income transfers from a casino, while other households did not. Using a difference-in-difference analysis, we find that the treated children had fewer depression and anxiety symptoms at age 30. In adulthood, individuals with more years of treatment exposure also had greater economic well-being around age 30. The untreated children, in adulthood, showed strong persistence in measures of mental health from adolescence through age 30, while in the treated group, children persistence was greatly attenuated. The estimated effects are slightly stronger for treated children who experienced fewer mental health symptoms before the transfers began at ages 16 and 21, but by age 30, all affected children showed reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression and improved economic outcomes.

Duke Scholars

Author William Everett Copeland Psychiatry, Child & Family Mental Health & Community Psychia ...