Starting School and ADHD: When Is It Time to Fly the Nest?

Catia Nicodemo (), Cheti Nicoletti and Joaquim Vidiella-Martin
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Catia Nicodemo: University of Oxford

No 17091, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Does deferring school entry for children born just before the enrollment cutoff date improve their mental well-being? We address this question using administrative data on prescriptions for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in England. Higher ADHD rates among early school starters are often attributed to a peer-comparison bias caused by differences in relative age among classmates. However, previous studies do not consider other potential underlying mechanisms. By adopting a more comprehensive framework, we can confirm that relative age is the primary driver of the gap in ADHD rate in the long term. Furthermore, we find that such a long-term gap is driven by first-time prescriptions between ages 5 and 8, which is a critical period when the accuracy of ADHD diagnosis is most important. Based on these findings, our policy recommendations include sorting children by age and refining diagnostic decision-making in early primary school.

Keywords: children; mental health; school starting age; ADHD; England; NHS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 I20 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 68 pages
Date: 2024-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-hea and nep-ure
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