IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hka/wpaper/2015-015.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Can Early Intervention Improve Maternal Well-being? Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial

Author

Listed:
  • Orla Doyle

    (University College Dublin)

  • Liam Delaney

    (Behavioural Science Centre, Stirling Management School, Stirling University)

  • Christine O'Farrelly

    (Centre for Mental Health, Imperial College London)

  • Nick Fitzpatrick

    (UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy, University College Dublin)

  • Michael Daly

    (Behavioural Science Centre, Stirling Management School, Stirling University)

Abstract

This study estimates the effect of a targeted policy intervention on global and experienced measures of maternal well-being. Participants from a disadvantaged community are randomly assigned during pregnancy to an intensive home visiting parenting program or a control group. The intervention has no impact on global well-being as measured by life satisfaction and parenting stress or experienced negative affect using episodic reports derived from the Day Reconstruction Method (DRM). Treatment effects are observed on measures of experienced positive affect from the DRM and a measure of mood yesterday. This suggests that early intervention may produce some improvements in experienced well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Orla Doyle & Liam Delaney & Christine O'Farrelly & Nick Fitzpatrick & Michael Daly, 2015. "Can Early Intervention Improve Maternal Well-being? Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial," Working Papers 2015-015, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    • Handle: RePEc:hka:wpaper:2015-015
    Note: ECI
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://humcap.uchicago.edu/RePEc/hka/wpaper/Doyle_Delaney_OFarrelly_etal_2015_early-int-maternal-well.pdf
    File Function: First version, November, 2015
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. repec:pri:rpdevs:grandpa_and_the_snapper_complete_version_2 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Orla Doyle, 2012. "Breaking the Cycle of Deprivation: An Experimental Evaluation of an Early Childhood Intervention," Working Papers 201212, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    3. Simon Luechinger, 2009. "Valuing Air Quality Using the Life Satisfaction Approach," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 119(536), pages 482-515, March.
    4. Beshears, John & Choi, James J. & Laibson, David & Madrian, Brigitte C., 2008. "How are preferences revealed?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(8-9), pages 1787-1794, August.
    5. Angus Deaton & Arthur A. Stone, 2014. "Grandpa and the Snapper: The Well-Being of the Elderly Who Live with Children," NBER Chapters, in: Discoveries in the Economics of Aging, pages 283-300, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Levinson, Arik, 2012. "Valuing public goods using happiness data: The case of air quality," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(9-10), pages 869-880.
    7. Orla Doyle & Louise McEntee & Kelly A. McNamara, 2010. "Skills, Capabilities and Inequalities at School Entry in a Disadvantaged Community," Working Papers 201014, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    8. Joseph P. Romano & Michael Wolf, 2005. "Exact and Approximate Stepdown Methods for Multiple Hypothesis Testing," Journal of the American Statistical Association, American Statistical Association, vol. 100, pages 94-108, March.
    9. Alan B. Krueger & Andreas I. Mueller, 2012. "Time Use, Emotional Well-Being, and Unemployment: Evidence from Longitudinal Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(3), pages 594-599, May.
    10. Jonathan Gruber & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2006. "Do Cigarette Taxes Make Smokers Happier?," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Yew-Kwang Ng & Lok Sang Ho (ed.), Happiness and Public Policy, chapter 6, pages 109-146, Palgrave Macmillan.
    11. Freedman, David & Lane, David, 1983. "A Nonstochastic Interpretation of Reported Significance Levels," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 1(4), pages 292-298, October.
    12. James Heckman & Seong Hyeok Moon & Rodrigo Pinto & Peter Savelyev & Adam Yavitz, 2010. "Analyzing social experiments as implemented: A reexamination of the evidence from the HighScope Perry Preschool Program," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 1(1), pages 1-46, July.
    13. Andreas Knabe & Steffen Rätzel, 2011. "Scarring or Scaring? The Psychological Impact of Past Unemployment and Future Unemployment Risk," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 78(310), pages 283-293, April.
    14. repec:pri:cheawb:grandpa%20and%20the%20snapper%20complete%20version%202.pdf is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Beshears, John & Choi, James J. & Laibson, David & Madrian, Brigitte C., 2008. "How are preferences revealed?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(8-9), pages 1787-1794, August.
    16. Peter Hoffenaar & Frank Balen & Jo Hermanns, 2010. "The Impact of Having a Baby on the Level and Content of Women’s Well-Being," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 97(2), pages 279-295, June.
    17. Paul Dolan & Daniel Kahneman, 2008. "Interpretations Of Utility And Their Implications For The Valuation Of Health," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(525), pages 215-234, January.
    18. Daniel Kahneman & Alan B. Krueger, 2006. "Developments in the Measurement of Subjective Well-Being," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(1), pages 3-24, Winter.
    19. Dolan, Paul & Layard, Richard & Metcalfe, Robert, 2011. "Measuring subjective well-being for public policy," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 35420, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    20. Christopher Christodoulou & Stefan Schneider & Arthur Stone, 2014. "Validation of a Brief Yesterday Measure of Hedonic Well-Being and Daily Activities: Comparison with the Day Reconstruction Method," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 115(3), pages 907-917, February.
    21. repec:pri:cheawb:grandpa%20and%20the%20snapper%20complete%20version%202 is not listed on IDEAS
    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. Daly, Michael & Delaney, Liam & Doyle, Orla & Fitzpatrick, Nick & O'Farrelly, Christine, 2014. "Can Early Intervention Policies Improve Well-being? Evidence from a randomized controlled trial," SIRE Discussion Papers 2015-03, Scottish Institute for Research in Economics (SIRE).
    2. Daly, Michael & Delaney, Liam & Doyle, Orla & Fitzpatrick, Nick & O'Farrelly, Christine, 2014. "Can Early Intervention Policies Improve Well-being? Evidence from a randomized controlled trial," 2007 Annual Meeting, July 29-August 1, 2007, Portland, Oregon TN 2015-03, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    3. Yonas Alem & Jonathan Colmer, 2013. "Don't Worry, Be Happy: The Welfare Cost of Climate Variability � A Subjective Well-Being Approach," GRI Working Papers 118, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
    4. Alem, Yonas & Colmer, Jonathan, 2013. "Optimal Expectations and the Welfare Cost of Climate Variability," Working Papers in Economics 578, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    5. Andrén, Daniela, 2019. "The Effects of Social Media Use on the Well-Being of Users. The Wonderland of HaikuJAM," Working Papers 2019:8, Örebro University, School of Business.
    6. van Hoorn, André, 2018. "Is the happiness approach to measuring preferences valid?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 53-65.
    7. Orla Doyle, 2017. "The First 2,000 Days and Child Skills: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment of Home Visiting," Working Papers 201715, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    8. Yonas Alem & Jonathan Colmer, 2015. "Consumption Smoothing and the Welfare Cost of Uncertainty," STICERD - Economic Organisation and Public Policy Discussion Papers Series 059, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE.
    9. Ferreira, Susana & Akay, Alpaslan & Brereton, Finbarr & Cuñado, Juncal & Martinsson, Peter & Moro, Mirko & Ningal, Tine F., 2013. "Life satisfaction and air quality in Europe," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 1-10.
    10. Yonas Alem & Jonathan Colmer, 2015. "Consumption smoothing and the welfare cost of uncertainty," GRI Working Papers 118b, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
    11. Yonas Alem & Jonathan Colmer, 2015. "Consumption Smoothing and the Welfare Cost of Uncertainty," CEP Discussion Papers dp1369, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    12. Stutzer, Alois, 2020. "Happiness and public policy: a procedural perspective," Behavioural Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(2), pages 210-225, July.
    13. John Feddersen & Robert Metcalfe & Mark Wooden, 2012. "Subjective Well-Being: Weather Matters; Climate Doesn't," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2012n25, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    14. Daniela Andrén, 2023. "Valuing Depression Using the Well-Being Valuation Approach," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 107-140, January.
    15. Leonhard K. Lades & Liam Delaney, 2024. "Self-control failures, as judged by themselves," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    16. repec:cep:stieop:59 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Alem, Yonas & Colmer, Jonathan, 2015. "Consumption smoothing and the welfare cost of uncertainty," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 63816, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    18. Odermatt, Reto & Stutzer, Alois, 2017. "Subjective Well-Being and Public Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 11102, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Thi Truong An Hoang & Andreas Knabe, 2021. "Time Use, Unemployment, and Well-Being: An Empirical Analysis Using British Time-Use Data," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 2525-2548, August.
    20. Ghosal, Sayantan & Dalton, Patricio, 2013. "Characterizing Behavioral Decisions with Choice Data," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 107, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    21. Hajdu, Tamás & Hajdu, Gábor, 2011. "A hasznosság és a relatív jövedelem kapcsolatának vizsgálata magyar adatok segítségével [Examining the relation of utility and relative income using Hungarian data]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(1), pages 56-73.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    well-being; randomized controlled trial; early intervention;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C12 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Hypothesis Testing: General
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • I39 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Other
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • I00 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - General - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:hka:wpaper:2015-015. 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: Jennifer Pachon (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/mfichus.html .

    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.