IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/uwp/jhriss/v59y2024isps317-s364.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Improving Mental Health of Adolescent Girls in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Causal Evidence from Life Skills Programming

Author

Listed:
  • Manisha Shah
  • Sarah Baird
  • Jennifer Seager
  • Benjamin Avuwadah
  • Joan Hamory
  • Shwetlena Sabarwal
  • Amita Vyas

Abstract

This study provides causal evidence on the impact of life skills programming on the mental health of adolescent girls aged 10–19 in three distinct low- and middle-income countries: Tanzania, Bangladesh, and Ethiopia. Life skills interventions significantly improved a component of mental health in all three contexts, with reductions in depression in Tanzania and improvements in socio-emotional development in Bangladesh and Ethiopia. However, findings suggest substantial heterogeneity in impact. Programs that target both adolescent boys and girls appear more effective than those that target girls alone, and existing supportive environments are a necessary condition for programs to improve mental health.

Suggested Citation

  • Manisha Shah & Sarah Baird & Jennifer Seager & Benjamin Avuwadah & Joan Hamory & Shwetlena Sabarwal & Amita Vyas, 2024. "Improving Mental Health of Adolescent Girls in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Causal Evidence from Life Skills Programming," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 59(S), pages 317-364.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:59:y:2024:i:s:p:s317-s364
    Note: DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.1222-12707R2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://jhr.uwpress.org/cgi/reprint/59/S/S317
    Download Restriction: A subscripton is required to access pdf files. Pay per article is available.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anderson, Michael L., 2008. "Multiple Inference and Gender Differences in the Effects of Early Intervention: A Reevaluation of the Abecedarian, Perry Preschool, and Early Training Projects," Journal of the American Statistical Association, American Statistical Association, vol. 103(484), pages 1481-1495.
    2. Ssewamala, Fred M. & Han, Chang-Keun & Neilands, Torsten B., 2009. "Asset ownership and health and mental health functioning among AIDS-orphaned adolescents: Findings from a randomized clinical trial in rural Uganda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 191-198, July.
    3. Patou Masika Musumari & Arunrat Tangmunkongvorakul & Kriengkrai Srithanaviboonchai & Teeranee Techasrivichien & S Pilar Suguimoto & Masako Ono-Kihara & Masahiro Kihara, 2018. "Grit is associated with lower level of depression and anxiety among university students in Chiang Mai, Thailand: A cross-sectional study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(12), pages 1-16, December.
    4. Victor Chernozhukov & Vira Semenova, 2018. "Simultaneous inference for Best Linear Predictor of the Conditional Average Treatment Effect and other structural functions," CeMMAP working papers CWP40/18, Centre for Microdata Methods and Practice, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    5. Laura E. Miller-Graff & E. Mark Cummings, 2022. "Supporting Youth and Families in Gaza: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Family-Based Intervention Program," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-19, July.
    6. Sule Alan & Teodora Boneva & Seda Ertac, 2019. "Ever Failed, Try Again, Succeed Better: Results from a Randomized Educational Intervention on Grit," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(3), pages 1121-1162.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bernard, Tanguy & Dercon, Stefan & Orkin, Kate & Schinaia, Giulio & Seyoum Taffesse, Alemayehu, 2023. "The Future in Mind: Aspirations and Long-term Outcomes in Rural Ethiopia," CEPR Discussion Papers 18492, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Islam, Asad & Kwon, Sungoh & Masood, Eema & Prakash, Nishith & Sabarwal, Shwetlena & Saraswat, Deepak, 2020. "When Goal-Setting Forges Ahead but Stops Short," GLO Discussion Paper Series 526, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    3. Huillery, Elise & Bouguen, Adrien & Charpentier, Axelle & Algan, Yann & Chevallier, Coralie, 2021. "The Role of Mindset in Education : A Large-Scale Field Experiment in Disadvantaged Schools," SocArXiv zs9aq, Center for Open Science.
    4. Zölitz, Ulf & Sorrenti, Giuseppe & Ribeaud, Denis & Eisner, Manuel, 2020. "The Causal Impact of Socio-Emotional Skills Training on Educational Success," CEPR Discussion Papers 14523, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Haroon, Maryiam & Said, Farah & Zafar, Mahniya, 2022. "Fostering non-cognitive skills and academic performance: Experimental evidence from women’s-only colleges in Pakistan," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    6. Del Bono, Emilia & Etheridge, Ben & Garcia, Paul, 2024. "The economic value of childhood socio-emotional skills," ISER Working Paper Series 2024-01, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    7. Steinert, Janina Isabel & Cluver, Lucie Dale & Meinck, Franziska & Doubt, Jenny & Vollmer, Sebastian, 2018. "Household economic strengthening through financial and psychosocial programming: Evidence from a field experiment in South Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 443-466.
    8. Dinarte, Lelys & Egaña del Sol, Pablo & Martínez, Claudia & Rojas Alvarado, Cindy Jacqueline, 2024. "When Emotion Regulation Matters: The Efficacy of Socio-Emotional Learning to Address School-Based Violence in Central America," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 13448, Inter-American Development Bank.
    9. Dinarte Diaz, Lelys & Egana-delSol, Pablo & Martínez A., Claudia & Rojas A., Cindy, 2024. "When Emotion Regulation Matters: The Efficacy of Socio-Emotional Learning to Address School-Based Violence in Central America," IZA Discussion Papers 16831, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Minahil Asim & Ronak Jain & Vatsal Khandelwal, 2024. "Great expectations? Experimental evidence from schools in Pakistan," ECON - Working Papers 454, Department of Economics - University of Zurich.
    11. Bhan, Prateek Chandra & Vornberger, Judith & Wen, Jinglin, 2024. "Reflection and mental health: Experimental evidence from Germany," Working Papers 38, University of Konstanz, Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality. Perceptions, Participation and Policies".
    12. Johannes Abeler & Armin Falk & Fabian Kosse, 2021. "Malleability of Preferences for Honesty," CESifo Working Paper Series 9033, CESifo.
    13. Cantoni, Enrico & Gazzè, Ludovica & Schafer, Jerome, 2021. "Turnout in concurrent elections: Evidence from two quasi-experiments in Italy," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    14. Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C. & Zhao, Jun, 2020. "Doubly robust difference-in-differences estimators," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 219(1), pages 101-122.
    15. Fabian T C Schmidt & Clemens M Lechner & Daniel Danner, 2020. "New wine in an old bottle? A facet-level perspective on the added value of Grit over BFI–2 Conscientiousness," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(2), pages 1-25, February.
    16. Lea Cassar & Mira Fischer & Vanessa Valero, 2022. "Keep Calm and Carry On: Immediate-vs. Six-Month Effects of Mindfulness Training on Academic Performance," CESifo Working Paper Series 10099, CESifo.
    17. Stephen B. Billings & Mark Hoekstra, 2019. "Schools, Neighborhoods, and the Long-Run Effect of Crime-Prone Peers," NBER Working Papers 25730, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Jessamyn Schaller & Mariana Zerpa, 2019. "Short-Run Effects of Parental Job Loss on Child Health," American Journal of Health Economics, MIT Press, vol. 5(1), pages 8-41, Winter.
    19. Damgaard, Mette Trier & Nielsen, Helena Skyt, 2018. "Nudging in education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 313-342.
    20. C. Kirabo Jackson & Shanette C. Porter & John Q. Easton & Alyssa Blanchard & Sebastián Kiguel, 2020. "School Effects on Socioemotional Development, School-Based Arrests, and Educational Attainment," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 2(4), pages 491-508, December.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:59:y:2024:i:s:p:s317-s364. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://jhr.uwpress.org/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.