IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/hlthec/v31y2022i9p1954-1972.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The lasting consequences of childhood sexual abuse on human capital and economic well‐being

Author

Listed:
  • Laura E. Henkhaus

Abstract

Childhood sexual abuse is a prevalent problem, yet understanding of later‐in‐life outcomes is limited due to unobservable determinants. I examine impacts on human capital and economic well‐being by estimating likely ranges around causal effects, using a nationally representative U.S. sample. Findings suggest that childhood sexual abuse leads to lower educational attainment and worse labor market outcomes. Results are robust to partial identification methods applying varying assumptions about unobservable confounding, using information on confounding from observables including other types of child abuse. I show that associations between childhood sexual abuse and education outcomes and earnings are at least as large for males as for females. Childhood sexual abuse by someone other than a caregiver is as influential or more so than caregiver sexual abuse in predicting worse outcomes. Considering the societal burden of childhood sexual abuse, findings could inform policy and resource allocation decisions for development and implementation of best practices for prevention and support.

Suggested Citation

  • Laura E. Henkhaus, 2022. "The lasting consequences of childhood sexual abuse on human capital and economic well‐being," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(9), pages 1954-1972, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:31:y:2022:i:9:p:1954-1972
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.4557
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.4557
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/hec.4557?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Joseph G. Altonji & Todd E. Elder & Christopher R. Taber, 2005. "Selection on Observed and Unobserved Variables: Assessing the Effectiveness of Catholic Schools," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(1), pages 151-184, February.
    2. El-Mallakh, Nelly & Maurel, Mathilde & Speciale, Biagio, 2018. "Arab spring protests and women's labor market outcomes: Evidence from the Egyptian revolution," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 656-682.
    3. Victor Lavy & Edith Sand, 2019. "The Effect of Social Networks on Students' Academic and Non-cognitive Behavioural Outcomes: Evidence from Conditional Random Assignment of Friends in School," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(617), pages 439-480.
    4. Lin, Dajun & Lutter, Randall & Ruhm, Christopher J., 2018. "Cognitive performance and labour market outcomes," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 121-135.
    5. Emily Oster, 2019. "Unobservable Selection and Coefficient Stability: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 187-204, April.
    6. Lindo, Jason M. & Schaller, Jessamyn & Hansen, Benjamin, 2018. "Caution! Men not at work: Gender-specific labor market conditions and child maltreatment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 77-98.
    7. Raissian, Kerri M. & Bullinger, Lindsey Rose, 2017. "Money matters: Does the minimum wage affect child maltreatment rates?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 60-70.
    8. Anger, Silke & Camehl, Georg & Peter, Frauke, 2017. "Involuntary job loss and changes in personality traits," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 71-91.
    9. Gabriella Conti & Elena Pizzo & Stephen Morris & Mariya Melnychuk, 2021. "The economic costs of child maltreatment in UK," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(12), pages 3087-3105, December.
    10. James Heckman & Rodrigo Pinto & Peter Savelyev, 2013. "Understanding the Mechanisms through Which an Influential Early Childhood Program Boosted Adult Outcomes," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(6), pages 2052-2086, October.
    11. Janet Currie & Erdal Tekin, 2012. "Understanding the Cycle: Childhood Maltreatment and Future Crime," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 47(2), pages 509-549.
    12. Tyler, Kimberly A. & Schmitz, Rachel M., 2018. "Child abuse, mental health and sleeping arrangements among homeless youth: Links to physical and sexual street victimization," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 327-333.
    13. Marianne P. Bitler & Madeline Zavodny, 2004. "Child Maltreatment, Abortion Availability, and Economic Conditions," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 2(2), pages 119-141, June.
    14. Johnson Rucker C & Schoeni Robert F, 2011. "The Influence of Early-Life Events on Human Capital, Health Status, and Labor Market Outcomes Over the Life Course," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 11(3), pages 1-57, September.
    15. Manski, Charles F, 1990. "Nonparametric Bounds on Treatment Effects," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(2), pages 319-323, May.
    16. Joseph J. Doyle Jr., 2007. "Child Protection and Child Outcomes: Measuring the Effects of Foster Care," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(5), pages 1583-1610, December.
    17. Joseph J. Doyle Jr., 2008. "Child Protection and Adult Crime: Using Investigator Assignment to Estimate Causal Effects of Foster Care," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 116(4), pages 746-770, August.
    18. Fletcher, Jason M., 2009. "Childhood mistreatment and adolescent and young adult depression," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(5), pages 799-806, March.
    19. Álvarez, Begoña & Palencia, Fernando Ramos, 2018. "Human capital and earnings in eighteenth-century Castile," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 105-133.
    20. Daniel I. Rees & Joseph J. Sabia, 2013. "Forced Intercourse, Mental Health, and Human Capital," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 80(2), pages 324-344, October.
    21. Janet Currie, 2020. "Child health as human capital," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(4), pages 452-463, April.
    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. Gabriella Conti & Elena Pizzo & Stephen Morris & Mariya Melnychuk, 2021. "The economic costs of child maltreatment in UK," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(12), pages 3087-3105, December.
    2. Maria D. Fitzpatrick & Cassandra Benson & Samuel R. Bondurant, 2020. "Beyond Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic: The Role of Teachers and Schools in Reporting Child Maltreatment," NBER Working Papers 27033, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Sandner, Malte & Thomsen, Stephan L., 2018. "The Effects of Universal Public Childcare Provision on Cases of Child Neglect and Abuse," IZA Discussion Papers 11687, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Atkins, Rose & Turner, Alex James & Chandola, Tarani & Sutton, Matt, 2020. "Going beyond the mean in examining relationships of adolescent non-cognitive skills with health-related quality of life and biomarkers in later-life," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    5. Lindsey Rose Bullinger & Vivian Wang & Kenneth A. Feder, 2022. "Effects of Opioid Treatment Programs on Child Well-Being," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 703(1), pages 79-105, September.
    6. Elisabetta De Cao, 2017. "The Impact of Unemployment on Child Maltreatment in the United States," Economics Series Working Papers 837, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    7. Dan Brown & Elisabetta De Cao, 2017. "The Impact of Unemployment on Child Maltreatment in the United States," Economics Papers 2017-W04, Economics Group, Nuffield College, University of Oxford.
    8. Anthony Bald & Eric Chyn & Justine Hastings & Margarita Machelett, 2022. "The Causal Impact of Removing Children from Abusive and Neglectful Homes," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 130(7), pages 1919-1962.
    9. Schurer, Stefanie & Trajkovski, Kristian & Hariharan, Tara, 2019. "Understanding the mechanisms through which adverse childhood experiences affect lifetime economic outcomes," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    10. Turner, Alex J. & Fichera, Eleonora & Sutton, Matt, 2021. "The effects of in-utero exposure to influenza on mental health and mortality risk throughout the life-course," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    11. Alloush, Mo & Bloem, Jeffrey R., 2022. "Neighborhood violence, poverty, and psychological well-being," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    12. Lindquist, Matthew J. & Santavirta, Torsten, 2014. "Does placing children in foster care increase their adult criminality?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 72-83.
    13. Matthew A. Masten & Alexandre Poirier & Linqi Zhang, 2024. "Assessing Sensitivity to Unconfoundedness: Estimation and Inference," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(1), pages 1-13, January.
    14. Sreevidya Ayyar & Uta Bolt & Eric French & Cormac O'Dea, 2024. "Imagine your life at 25: Gender conformity and later-life outcomes," IFS Working Papers W24/32, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    15. Clarke, Damian & Larroulet, Pilar & Pailañir, Daniel & Quintana, Daniela, 2023. "Schools as Safety Nets: Break-Downs and Recovery in Reporting of Violence against Children," IZA Discussion Papers 15859, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Manuel Flores Mallo & Barbara L. Wolfe, 2020. "The Influence of Early Life Health Conditions on Life Course Health," NBER Working Papers 27174, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Ferman, Bruno & Fontes, Luiz Felipe, 2020. "Discriminating Behavior: Evidence from teachers’ grading bias," MPRA Paper 100400, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Eric A. Hanushek & Babs Jacobs & Guido Schwerdt & Rolf van der Velden & Stan Vermeulen & Simon Wiederhold, 2021. "Where Do STEM Graduates Stem From? The Intergenerational Transmission of Comparative Skill Advantages," CESifo Working Paper Series 9388, CESifo.
    19. Malte Sandner & Stephan L. Thomsen & Libertad González Luna, 2020. "Preventing child maltreatment: Beneficial side effects of public childcare provision," Economics Working Papers 1744, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    20. Yoon, Miyoung & Bender, Anna E. & Park, Jiho, 2018. "The association between out-of-home placement and offending behavior among maltreated youth: A systematic review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 263-281.

    More about this item

    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:wly:hlthec:v:31:y:2022:i:9:p:1954-1972. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/5749 .

    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.