Child mental health and human capital accumulation: The case of ADHD

Abstract

We examine U.S. and Canadian children with symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), the most common child mental health problem. ADHD increases the probability of delinquency and grade repetition, reduces future reading and mathematics scores, and increases the probability of special education. The estimated effects are remarkably similar in the two countries, and are robust to many specification changes.Moreover, even moderate symptoms have large negative effects relative to the effects of poor physical health. The probability of treatment increases with income in the U.S., but not in Canada. However, in models of outcomes, interactions between income and ADHD scores are statistically insignificant in the U.S. (except for delinquency), while in Canada these interactions indicate that higher income is protective. The U.S. results are consistent with a growing psychological literature which suggests that conventional treatments for ADHD improve behavior, but have inconsistent effects on cognitive performance.

Teacher Attitudes Towards Students Who Exhibit ADHD-Type Behaviours

“…Hyperactive, impulsive and inattentive behaviours can have significant adverse social ramifications, including problems with the initiation and maintenance of friendships due to a lack of impulse control and hyperactivity that often makes playing games with rules difficult. These behaviours may be correlated with poor academic achievement and significantly lower test scores in reading and mathematics than other children (Carroll, Maughan, Goodman, & Meltzer, 2005;Currie & Stabile, 2006;Daley & Birchwood, 2010;Rapport, Scanlan, & Denney, 1999). ADHD-type behaviours can also often mask comorbid learning disabilities, which left undetected can cause significant problems throughout life.…”

Exploding asthma and ADHD caseloads: The role of medicaid managed care

“…Children suffering from ADHD face behavioral, learning, developmental and emotional problems that extend into adulthood. Currie and Stabile (2006) find a large negative effect of ADHD on children’s academic test scores and schooling attainment, while Fletcher and Wolfe (2009) and Fletcher (2014) report a higher probability of engaging in criminal behavior as well as lower employment probabilities, wages, and higher accident probabilities. Although research is ongoing, the bulk of the evidence suggests that ADHD medication affects behavior in a way that may improve safety and health outcomes, although there is little evidence of long-term improvements in academic performance with drug treatment.…”

What predictors matter: Risk factors for late adolescent outcomes

“…Our approach combines a large number of cases, longitudinal epidemiological data, advanced statistics, and sibling analysis to better compare a number of important risk factors; each variable can be assessed simultaneously controlling for the other measures. [2][3][4] Using administrative data from the early life course arguably provides better measurement than the usual reliance on retrospective surveys. 3 Categorizing variables likely to affect child development is inevitably subjective.…”

“…[2][3][4] Using administrative data from the early life course arguably provides better measurement than the usual reliance on retrospective surveys. 3 Categorizing variables likely to affect child development is inevitably subjective. In this study, biological measures include sex and birth weight (an indicator of infant health).…”