Effects of maternal depression on family food insecurity

Kelly Noonan, Hope Corman and Nancy E. Reichman

Economics & Human Biology, 2016, vol. 22, issue C, 201-215

Abstract: We use data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Birth Cohort to estimate the effects of maternal depression, a condition that is fairly common and can be severe, on food insecurity, a hardship that has increased substantially in the U.S. Using various model specifications, we find convincing evidence that severe maternal depression increases the likelihood that young children experience food insecurity by 23–79%, with estimates depending on model specification and measures of depression and food insecurity. For household food insecurity, the corresponding estimates are 11–69%. We also find that maternal depression increases reliance on several types of public programs, suggesting that the programs play a buffering role.

Keywords: Maternal depression; Food insecurity; Hardship; Family well-being (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H53 I1 I3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:22:y:2016:i:c:p:201-215

DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2016.04.004

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