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Communication Problems? The Role of Parent-child Communication for the Subsequent Health Behavior of Adolescents

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  • Avdic, Daniel
  • Büyükdurmus, Tugba

Abstract

We contribute to the literature on the determinants of socioeconomic health disparities by studying how the health behavior of adolescents may arise from the degree of communication between parent and child. Parent-child communication may function as a mediator between family background and subsequent poor health behavior, potentially reconciling previous mixed evidence on the relationship between child health and social status. Using data from a unique German child health survey we construct an index of parent-child communication quality by comparing responses to statements about the children's well-being from both children and their parents. Applying the constructed communication measure in a continuous treatment empirical framework, allowing for estimation of non-linear effects, our results show that improved parent-child communication monotonously reduces the smoking prevalence of adolescents by as much as 70%, irrespective of social background. More complex relationships are found for risky alcohol consumption and abnormal body weight.

Suggested Citation

  • Avdic, Daniel & Büyükdurmus, Tugba, 2015. "Communication Problems? The Role of Parent-child Communication for the Subsequent Health Behavior of Adolescents," Ruhr Economic Papers 547, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:rwirep:547
    DOI: 10.4419/86788625
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David Johnston & Carol Propper & Stephen Pudney & Michael Shields, 2014. "Child Mental Health And Educational Attainment: Multiple Observers And The Measurement Error Problem," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(6), pages 880-900, September.
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    4. Anderson, Patricia M. & Butcher, Kristin F. & Levine, Phillip B., 2003. "Maternal employment and overweight children," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 477-504, May.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    child health; health behavior; communication; intergenerational transmission; socioeconomic inequality; continuous treatment effect;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C31 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models; Quantile Regressions; Social Interaction Models
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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