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Depression and Risky Health Behaviors

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  • Weng, Alex Xingbang

Abstract

Risky health behaviors are a major source of preventable deaths in the world. I estimate the effect of depression on risky health behaviors at different stages of the life course. To tackle unobservable confounders and reverse causality, I exploit variations in friend and family suicide attempts and a genetic score for depression as instrumental variables. I find that one standard deviation increase in depression leads to a 4% higher probability of having unprotected sex and a 16% higher probability of smoking cigarettes. Depression could promote individuals’ risky health behaviors through altering their risk preferences, noncognitive skills, and perceived social support.

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  • Weng, Alex Xingbang, 2025. "Depression and Risky Health Behaviors," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:233:y:2025:i:c:s0167268125001039
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2025.106983
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