The 2021 Child Tax Credit, the Living Arrangements and Housing Affordability of Families with Low Incomes

Pilkauskas, Natasha V.; Michelmore, Katherine; Kovski, Nicole

doi:10.2139/ssrn.4475937

Cited by 1 publication

(3 citation statements)

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“…In general, our findings align with several prior studies that indicated that the expanded CTC had favorable associations with alleviating mental health outcomes, including depression and anxiety symptoms, 11,13 while diverging from those of Glasner et al, 14 who reported no short-term association of the CTC expansion with measures of life satisfaction and anxiety and depression symptoms. Given that several studies have shown that the expanded CTC significantly improved financial burdens and economic difficulties, including poverty and material hardship, 10,12,19 all of which are strongly associated with mental health, it is plausible to posit that the positive outcomes on these economic aspects may have partially or entirely translated into enhancements in parental mental health, as evidenced in the present study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Although the 2021 CTC expansion held the potential to enhance economic outcomes, 10,12,19 which in turn may have led to improved mental health as our findings suggest, it was temporary and expired by the end of 2021. Reverting the program to its former state was expected to result in an immediate reduction in the benefit level, which could potentially exacerbate parental mental health conditions and child poverty.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This expansion aimed to provide financial relief and promote child development by making the credit nearly universal with more generous credit amounts and periodic distributions. 9,10 While we know that the 2021 CTC expansion has been shown to improve various aspects of family well-being and economic outcomes, 2,[9][10][11][12] it is important to note that there are currently only a handful of relevant studies on the association of the policy with mental health. The aim of our study was to fill this crucial gap by identifying the association of the 2021 CTC expansion with parental mental health as measured by depression and anxiety symptoms using a refined methodology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Expansion of Child Tax Credits and Mental Health of Parents With Low Income in 2021

Nam,

Kwon

2024

JAMA Netw Open

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ImportanceThe 2021 Child Tax Credit (CTC) expansion, as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, offered financial relief through generous monthly tax benefits to families with children amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of heightened concerns about mental health during the pandemic, the expanded CTC may have alleviated parental mental health challenges, especially within families with low income.ObjectiveTo investigate the association between the 2021 CTC expansion and mental health among parents with low income as measured by depression and anxiety symptoms.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis repeated cross-sectional study used data from the Household Pulse Survey covering April 14, 2021, to January 10, 2022, in the US. A difference-in-difference-in-differences estimator combined with propensity score matching was used to estimate the association of the expanded CTC with mental health symptoms among households with income less than $35 000.ExposureThe monthly payment of expanded CTC from July 15 to December 15, 2021.Main Outcomes and MeasuresParental mental health was measured by analyzing depression and anxiety symptoms using logistic regression.ResultsThe weighted sample comprised 546 366 adults (mean [SD] age, 43.02 [14.54] years; 52.9% female). The most common education level was high school or less (36.0%), the highest frequency of household income distribution was $50 000 to $74 999 (16.1%), and the majority of the sample was employed (67.3%). The weighted mean (SD) number of children in the household was 0.92 (1.18). For the full sample, receiving expanded CTC benefits was associated with lower odds of experiencing anxiety symptoms (odds ratio, 0.730; 95% CI, 0.598-0.890). Subgroup analyses indicated that the positive associations of the policy with anxiety symptoms were particularly pronounced among the female, working-age (17-60 years), non-Hispanic White, and higher education groups. However, the policy expansion had no association with depression.Conclusions and RelevanceThese findings may provide valuable evidence for policy makers to consider when deliberating on the possibility of making the CTC expansion permanent or transforming it into a universal program.

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