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Trajectories of Early Childhood Skill Development and Maternal Mental Health

Author

Listed:
  • Sevim, Dilek

    (University of Basel)

  • Baranov, Victoria

    (University of Melbourne)

  • Bhalotra, Sonia

    (University of Warwick and CAGE)

  • Maselko, Joanna

    (University of North Carolina)

  • Biroli, Pietro

    (University of Bologna)

Abstract

We investigate the impacts of a perinatal psychosocial intervention on trajectories of maternal mental health and child skills, from birth to age 3. We find improved maternal mental health and functioning (0.17 to 0.29 SD), modest but imprecisely estimated improvements in parenting (0.07 to 0.11 SD), and transitory improvements in child socioemotional development (0.06 to 0.39 SD). The intervention had negligible influence on physical health and cognition. Estimates of a skill production function reveal the intervention attenuated the negative association between maternal depression and child outcomes, and narrowed outcome gaps between mothers who were and were not depressed in pregnancy.

Suggested Citation

  • Sevim, Dilek & Baranov, Victoria & Bhalotra, Sonia & Maselko, Joanna & Biroli, Pietro, 2023. "Trajectories of Early Childhood Skill Development and Maternal Mental Health," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 674, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    • Handle: RePEc:cge:wacage:674
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    File URL: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/research/centres/cage/manage/publications/wp674.2023.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

    mental health; stress; socioemotional; RCT; child development; technology of skill formation; gender JEL Classification:;
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