Child Mental Health and Human Capital Accumulation: The Case of Adhd

53 Pages Posted: 25 May 2006 Last revised: 8 Jul 2022

See all articles by Janet Currie

Janet Currie

Princeton University; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Mark Stabile

INSEAD; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: April 2004

Abstract

One in five U.S. youngsters has a mental disorder, but we know little about the effects of these disorders on outcomes. We examine U.S. and Canadian children with symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), the most common child mental health problem. Our innovations include the use of large nationally representative samples of children, the use of questions administered to all children rather than focusing only on diagnosed cases, and the use of sibling fixed effects to control for omitted variables. We find large negative effects on test scores and schooling attainment suggesting that mental health conditions are a more important determinant of average outcomes than physical health conditions.

Suggested Citation

Currie, Janet and Stabile, Mark, Child Mental Health and Human Capital Accumulation: The Case of Adhd (April 2004). NBER Working Paper No. w10435, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=532994

Janet Currie (Contact Author)

Princeton University ( email )

Princeton, NJ 08544-1021
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HOME PAGE: http://www.princeton.edu/~jcurrie

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

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Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

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Mark Stabile

INSEAD ( email )

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F-77305 Fontainebleau Cedex
France

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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