This project will design retrospective histories that capture the most relevant circumstances in which PSID respondents lived during their childhood years. These circumstances will include aspects of their economic i life including periods of deprivation, their family life and any reasons for family dysfunction, history of arrests and convictions, their friendship networks, and school experiences. Traditionally, PSID has relied on one respondent to report on both spouses. In this project I will analyze the congruency of proxy and self-reports by comparing spousal and self-reports of the same histories. Building on my past research, I will use this enhanced PSID data to examine impacts of early life conditions including childhood mental and physical health on salient later life adult outcomes spanning adult mental and physical health and socioeconomic status (SES) including levels and trajectories of education, family income, household wealth, individual earnings, labor supply, and the propensity to stay and remain married. The project will also investigate possible determinants of childhood mental disorders including issues in the family, the schools, and social networks.
Childhood psychological problem carry with them large non-economic and economic costs throughout adulthood. This research will document those consequences and attempt to unravel the primary determinates of mental health issues among children using family designed data with information on children, their siblings, and their parents.
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