IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp17239.html

Parental Health, Adolescents' Mental Distress and Non-cognitive Skills

Author

Listed:
  • Davillas, Apostolos

    (HEDG, York)

  • de Oliveira, Victor Hugo

    (Instituto de Pesquisa e Estratégia Econômica do Ceará (IPECE))

  • Raftopoulou, Athina

    (University of Patras)

Abstract

Drawing on nationally representative UK data, we explore the association of parental health and disability with mental distress and non-cognitive skills development of adolescents; both self-reported and more objectively measured bio-measures are used to capture parental health. Overall, we demonstrate a systematic association of parental health/disability with the non-cognitive skills development of adolescents living in the same household. However, considerable heterogeneity in these associations is observed between (and within) the mother's and father's health and disability measures. Much less evident is the link between parental health/disability and adolescents' mental distress. Our findings suggest that each parent's health and disability status may be differentially associated with adolescents' non-cognitive skills development.

Suggested Citation

  • Davillas, Apostolos & de Oliveira, Victor Hugo & Raftopoulou, Athina, 2024. "Parental Health, Adolescents' Mental Distress and Non-cognitive Skills," IZA Discussion Papers 17239, IZA Network @ LISER.
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17239
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp17239.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wolfgang Frimmel & Martin Halla & Joerg Paetzold & Julia Schmieder, 2020. "Health of Elderly Parents, their Children's Labor Supply, and the Role of Migrant Care Workers," Economics working papers 2020-18, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    2. Millimet, Daniel L. & Tchernis, Rusty, 2015. "Persistence in body mass index in a recent cohort of US children," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 157-176.
    3. Davillas, Apostolos & Pudney, Stephen, 2020. "Using biomarkers to predict healthcare costs: Evidence from a UK household panel," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    4. James Heckman & Flavio Cunha, 2007. "The Technology of Skill Formation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(2), pages 31-47, May.
    5. Bhashkar Mazumder, 2005. "Fortunate Sons: New Estimates of Intergenerational Mobility in the United States Using Social Security Earnings Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(2), pages 235-255, May.
    6. Davillas, Apostolos & Pudney, Stephen, 2017. "Concordance of health states in couples: Analysis of self-reported, nurse administered and blood-based biomarker data in the UK Understanding Society panel," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 87-102.
    7. Attanasio, Orazio & Blundell, Richard & Conti, Gabriella & Mason, Giacomo, 2020. "Inequality in socio-emotional skills: A cross-cohort comparison," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    8. Johnston, David W. & Schurer, Stefanie & Shields, Michael A., 2013. "Exploring the intergenerational persistence of mental health: Evidence from three generations," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 1077-1089.
    9. Flavio Cunha & James J. Heckman & Susanne M. Schennach, 2010. "Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 78(3), pages 883-931, May.
    10. Bencsik, Panka & Halliday, Timothy J. & Mazumder, Bhashkar, 2023. "The intergenerational transmission of mental and physical health in the United Kingdom," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    11. Orazio Attanasio & Aureo de Paula & Alessandro Toppeta, 2020. "The Persistence of Socio-Emotional Skills: Life Cycle and Intergenerational Evidence," Documentos de Trabajo 18403, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA).
    12. James J. Heckman & Jora Stixrud & Sergio Urzua, 2006. "The Effects of Cognitive and Noncognitive Abilities on Labor Market Outcomes and Social Behavior," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 24(3), pages 411-482, July.
    13. Daouli, Joan & Davillas, Apostolos & Demoussis, Michael & Giannakopoulos, Nicholas, 2014. "Obesity persistence and duration dependence: Evidence from a cohort of US adults (1985–2010)," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 12(C), pages 30-44.
    14. Augustin de Coulon & Elena Meschi & Anna Vignoles, 2011. "Parents' skills and children's cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(5), pages 451-474, July.
    15. Bhashkar Mazumder, 2024. "What do we know about the intergenerational transmission of health," Chapters, in: Elina Kilpi-Jakonen & Jo Blanden & Jani Erola & Lindsey Macmillan (ed.), Research Handbook on Intergenerational Inequality, chapter 11, pages 150-163, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    16. Davillas, Apostolos & Jones, Andrew M., 2020. "Regional inequalities in adiposity in England: distributional analysis of the contribution of individual-level characteristics and the small area obesogenic environment," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    17. Bratti, Massimiliano & Mendola, Mariapia, 2014. "Parental health and child schooling," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 94-108.
    18. Gabriella Conti & Stephen Pudney, 2011. "Survey Design and the Analysis of Satisfaction," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(3), pages 1087-1093, August.
    19. Wolfgang Frimmel & Martin Halla & Joerg Paetzold & Julia Schmieder, 2020. "Health of Elderly Parents, their Children's Labor Supply, and the Role of Migrant Care Workers," Economics working papers 2020-18, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    20. Meyer, Bruce D. & Mok, Wallace K.C., 2019. "Disability, earnings, income and consumption," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 51-69.
    21. Gary S. Becker & Nigel Tomes, 1994. "Human Capital and the Rise and Fall of Families," NBER Chapters, in: Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to Education, Third Edition, pages 257-298, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Benzeval, Michaela & Davillas, Apostolos & Kumari, Meena & Lynn, Peter, 2014. "Understanding Society: The UK Household Longitudinal Study Biomarker User Guide and Glossary," MPRA Paper 114713, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    23. Becker, Gary S & Tomes, Nigel, 1979. "An Equilibrium Theory of the Distribution of Income and Intergenerational Mobility," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(6), pages 1153-1189, December.
    24. Huong Thu Le & Ha Trong Nguyen, 2017. "Parental health and children's cognitive and noncognitive development: New evidence from the longitudinal survey of Australian children," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(12), pages 1767-1788, December.
    25. Ida Lykke Kristiansen, 2021. "Consequences of serious parental health events on child mental health and educational outcomes," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(8), pages 1772-1817, August.
    26. Apostolos Davillas & Michaela Benzeval & Meena Kumari, 2016. "Association of Adiposity and Mental Health Functioning across the Lifespan: Findings from Understanding Society (The UK Household Longitudinal Study)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(2), pages 1-19, February.
    27. Ahlburg, Dennis, 1998. "Intergenerational Transmission of Health," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(2), pages 265-270, May.
    28. Davillas, A.; Jones, A.M.; Benzeval, M.;, 2017. "The income-health gradient: Evidence from self-reported health and biomarkers using longitudinal data on income," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 17/04, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    29. McNamee, Paul & Mendolia, Silvia & Yerokhin, Oleg, 2021. "Social media use and emotional and behavioural outcomes in adolescence: Evidence from British longitudinal data," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    30. Joseph P. Romano & Michael Wolf, 2005. "Stepwise Multiple Testing as Formalized Data Snooping," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 73(4), pages 1237-1282, July.
    31. Felix Glaser & Gerald J. Pruckner, 2023. "A hard pill to swallow? Parental health shocks and children's mental health," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(12), pages 2768-2800, December.
    32. Andrea M. Mühlenweg & Franz G. Westermaier & Brant Morefield, 2016. "Parental health and child behavior: evidence from parental health shocks," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 577-598, September.
    33. Lindo, Jason M., 2011. "Parental job loss and infant health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 869-879.
    34. Chang, Harrison & Halliday, Timothy J. & Lin, Ming-Jen & Mazumder, Bhashkar, 2024. "Estimating intergenerational health transmission in Taiwan with administrative health records," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).
    35. Pilar García-Gómez & Hans van Kippersluis & Owen O’Donnell & Eddy van Doorslaer, 2013. "Long-Term and Spillover Effects of Health Shocks on Employment and Income," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 48(4), pages 873-909.
    36. Victor R. Fuchs, 2018. "Reflections on the Socio-Economic Correlates of Health," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Health Economics and Policy Selected Writings by Victor Fuchs, chapter 10, pages 115-124, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    37. Alam, Shamma Adeeb, 2015. "Parental health shocks, child labor and educational outcomes: Evidence from Tanzania," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 161-175.
    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. Huong Thu Le & Ha Trong Nguyen, 2017. "Parental health and children's cognitive and noncognitive development: New evidence from the longitudinal survey of Australian children," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(12), pages 1767-1788, December.
    2. Esteban García-Miralles & Miriam Gensowski, 2025. "Are Children’s Socio-Emotional Skills Shaped by Parental Health Shocks?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 60(5), pages 1560-1596.
    3. Huong Thu Le & Ha Trong Nguyen, 2015. "Intergenerational Transmission in Health: Causal estimates from fixed effects instrumental variables models for two cohorts of Australian children," Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre Working Paper series WP1509, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School.
    4. Felix Glaser & Gerald J. Pruckner, 2023. "A hard pill to swallow? Parental health shocks and children's mental health," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(12), pages 2768-2800, December.
    5. Lochner, Lance & Park, Youngmin, 2024. "Earnings dynamics and intergenerational transmission of skill," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 243(1).
    6. Jajtner, Katie & Wang, Yang, 2025. "The effects of earned income tax credits on intergenerational health mobility in the United States," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    7. Ubaldi Michele & Picchio Matteo, 2025. "Intergenerational Scars: The Impact of Parental Unemployment on Individual Health Later in Life," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 26(1), pages 35-70.
    8. Attanasio, Orazio P. & de Paula, Áureo & Toppeta, Alessandro, 2025. "Intergenerational mobility in socio-emotional skills," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    9. Janet Currie & Maya Rossin‐Slater, 2015. "Early‐Life Origins of Life‐Cycle Well‐Being: Research and Policy Implications," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(1), pages 208-242, January.
    10. Tomoaki Kotera & Ananth Seshadri, 2017. "Educational Policy and Intergenerational Policy," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 25, pages 187-207, April.
    11. Li, Han & Li, Jiangyi & Lu, Yi & Xie, Huihua, 2023. "Do housing regulations affect child development? Evidence and mechanisms," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    12. Justine Herve & Subha Mani & Jere Behrman & Ramanan Laxminarayan & Arindam Nandi, 2025. "Intergenerational Mobility in Depression and Anxiety in India," PIER Working Paper Archive 25-001, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania.
    13. Celik, Murat Alp, 2023. "Does the Cream Always Rise to the Top? The Misallocation of Talent in Innovation," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 105-128.
    14. Silke Anger & Daniel D. Schnitzlein, 2017. "Cognitive skills, non-cognitive skills, and family background: evidence from sibling correlations," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 30(2), pages 591-620, April.
    15. repec:iza:izadps:dp17647 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Ferrara, Alessandro & Heisig, Jan P. & Radl, Jonas & Scheinert, Alena, 2025. "Parental Health Shocks and Child Outcomes at Ages 17–25: Evidence From Germany," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 0, pages 1-11.
    17. Kourtellos, Andros & Marr, Christa & Tan, Chih Ming, 2020. "Local Intergenerational Mobility," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    18. Elizabeth M. Caucutt & Lance Lochner & Youngmin Park, 2017. "Correlation, Consumption, Confusion, or Constraints: Why Do Poor Children Perform so Poorly?," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 119(1), pages 102-147, January.
    19. Thakurata, Indrajit & D'Souza, Errol, 2018. "Child labour and human capital in developing countries - A multi-period stochastic model," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 67-81.
    20. Raitano, Michele & Vona, Francesco, 2021. "Nepotism vs. Specific Skills: The effect of professional liberalization on returns to parental background of Italian lawyers," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 489-505.
    21. Breitkopf, Laura & Chowdhury, Shyamal K. & Priyam, Shambhavi & Schildberg-Hörisch, Hannah & Sutter, Matthias, 2020. "Do economic preferences of children predict behavior?," DICE Discussion Papers 342, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure

    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:iza:izadps:dp17239. 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: Mark Fallak (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaalu.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.