The Enduring Impact of Childhood Experience on Mental Health: Evidence Using Instrumented Co-Twin Data

Abstract

The question of whether there is a lasting effect of childhood experience on mental health has eluded causal measurement. We draw upon identical twin data and econometric instrumentation to provide an unbiased answer. We find that 55% of a one standard deviation change in mental health due to idiosyncratic experience at age 9 will still be present three years later. Extending the analysis, we find such persistence to vary with age at impact, gender, and mental health sub-categories. This investigation allows us to get a grasp on the degree to which childhood events influence health and socio-economic outcomes by way of their lagged effect on subsequent mental health. A better understanding of the evolution of mental health also helps identifying when mental health issues can be most effectively treated.

Adult happiness and prior traumatic victimization in and out of the household

“…For instance, an astonishing 22 percent of Americans report having suffered from childhood sexual abuse; 21 percent indicate they were the victims of physical abuse as a youth, and 14 percent had witnessed maternal violence in the home as children (Edwards et al 2003;Kilpatrick and Saunders 1997). Moreover, there is large body of research (Benjet et al 2010;Kessler et al 1997;Kendler et al 2000;Shalem et al 2012;and Diette et al 2014) linking maltreatment as a youth with poor mental health later in life. However, scholars have yet to explore carefully the connection between traumatic victimization earlier in life and level of happiness as an adult.…”