Childhood Mental Disorders and Adulthood Labor Market Outcomes

Background: One in five US youngsters has a mental disorder, but we know little about the effects of these disorders on social and economic outcomes. And according to a national college health survey in 2005, 14.9% of college students have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorder. Almost 75% of them experienced mental health problem (ADHD or Anxiety Disorder) during their early childhood or adolescence.

The negative effects on test scores and schooling attainment suggest that mental health conditions are a more important determinant of average outcomes than physical health conditions (Currie & Stabile, 2006). Fletcher and Wolfe (2009) demonstrate the negative influence of adolescent depression on their subsequent employment status and prospective earnings by using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Based on his 2009 study, Fletcher (2013) shows the importance of ADHD on labor market outcomes.

Objective: Since most of the students enrolled in college around 2005 are now in the labor market, my interest is in looking at their current employment status, and to link that to their children experience with mental illness. By studying specific age groups, this paper is examining the longitudinal effects of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD) for boys and Depression/Anxiety Disorder (D/AD) for girls on their adulthood employment status, competitiveness and ability on the job market, and prospects for promotion.

Data: This study uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), which documents the transition from school to work and from adolescence to adulthood. The survey sample is designed to represent US residents in 1997 that were born during the years 1980 through 1984. The majority of the oldest cohort members (aged 16 as of December 31, 1996) were still in secondary school during the first survey round and the youngest respondents (aged 12) had not yet entered the labor market. The original sample includes 8,984 respondents (NLSY97 Introduction). By later rounds of the survey, most respondents were working.

Prospective Results: Experiencing mental health illness during childhood may be associated with increased risk of unemployment, and negative effects on the prospects of promotion. In the social capital domain, growing up in a single-parent family, experiencing family conflicts, and a lack of attachment to school may increase the prevalence of child or adolescent ADHD and D/AD (Caspi et al, 1998). In the human capital domain, experiencing ADHD and D/AD leads to a lack of school qualifications, poor reading skills, and limited score on educational assessment. In the personal capital domain, the negative effects on educational attainment of poor child mental health leads in turn to an increased risk of unemployment and an unhelpful impact on future career development.