Year: 2014
Type: report
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: We study the origins of adult mental health using early life income fluctuations.Combining a time series of real producer prices of cocoa with a nationally representative household survey in Ghana, we show that a one standard deviation rise in the cocoa price in early life decreases the likelihood of severe mental distress in adulthood by 3 percentage points (or half the mean prevalence) for cohorts born in cocoa-producing regions relative to other regions.Impacts on related personality traits are consistent with this result.Maternal nutrition, reinforcing childhood investments, and adult circumstance are operative channels of impact.
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G9000095605, G966283726
OpenAlex ID: W2157185771