Early Life Circumstance and Adult Mental Health

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Adhvaryu, Achyuta; Fenske, James; Nyshadham, Anant
• 署名单位: University of Michigan System; University of Michigan; National Bureau of Economic Research; University of Warwick
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-3808
• DOI: 10.1086/701606
• 发表日期: 2019
• 页码: 1516-1549
• 关键词: coronary-heart-disease; DUTCH-HUNGER-WINTER; prenatal exposure; psychological distress; low-income; PERSONALITY-DISORDER; schizophrenia; childhood; famine; shocks

摘要

We show that psychological well-being in adulthood varies with circumstance in early life. Combining a time series of real producer prices of cocoa with a nationally representative household survey in Ghana, we find that a one standard deviation rise in the cocoa price in early life decreases the likelihood of severe mental distress in adulthood by 3 percentage points (half the mean prevalence) for cohorts born in cocoa-producing regions relative to those born in other regions. Impacts on related personality traits are consistent with this result. Maternal nutrition, reinforcing childhood investments, and adult circumstance are likely operative channels of impact.