In-Person Schooling and Youth Suicide: Evidence from School Calendars and Pandemic School Closures

Benjamin Hansen, Joseph J. Sabia and Jessamyn Schaller

Journal of Human Resources, 2024, vol. 59, issue S, s227-s255

Abstract: This study explores the effect of in-person schooling on youth suicide in the United States. We show that youth suicide rates historically declined during summers and rose again earlier in counties with an August school starting date. We document a departure from this pattern at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: youth suicides fell 25 percent in March 2020, when schools closed, and remained low throughout summer. Leveraging county variation in the timing of reopening, we find that returning to in-person instruction increased youth suicides by 12–18 percent. Analysis of Google search data suggests that bullying is a likely mechanism.

JEL-codes: I12 I18 I19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
Note: DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.1222-12710R2
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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