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Poverty and birth cohort effects of experiencing the 2007–2009 Great Recession during adolescence on major depressive episodes and mental health treatment of young adults in the United States

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Abstract

Purpose

Household economic adversity during adolescence is hypothesized to be a risk factor for poor mental health later in life. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a quasi-experimental analysis of an economic shock, the Great Recession of 2007–2009. We tested if going through adolescence during the Great Recession was associated with increased risk of major depressive episodes (MDE) and mental health treatment in young adulthood with potential moderation by household poverty to explore differences by economic adversity.

Methods

We analyzed data on young adults age 18–29 years from the 2005–2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (N = 145,394). We compared participants who were adolescents during the recession to those followed-up prior to the recession. Regression analysis tested effect modification by household poverty status.

Results

Adolescent exposure to the Great Recession was associated with higher likelihood of MDE during young adulthood (aOR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.23, 1.37); there was no relationship with mental health treatment. Effects on MDE were stronger among those in households with higher incomes compared to those living in poverty.

Conclusion

Findings support the hypothesis that exposure to the Great Recession during adolescence may have increased risk for MDE, but raise questions about whether the mechanism of this association is economic distress.

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Data-availability statement

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health is publicly available to download here: https://www.datafiles.samhsa.gov/data-sources.

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Acknowledgements

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Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. DWB is a fellow of the CIFAR CBD Network.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 W 168 St, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Melanie S. Askari, Daniel W. Belsky & Katherine M. Keyes

  2. New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Dr, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Mark Olfson

  3. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, Hampton House 797, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Ramin Mojtabai

  4. RAND Corporation, 4570 Fifth Ave #600, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA

    Joshua Breslau

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  1. Melanie S. Askari
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Contributions

Dr. Melanie Askari conceptualized and designed the study, conducted the analyses, drafted the article, and revised the manuscript text. Drs. Daniel Belsky, Mark Olfson, Joshua Breslau, and Ramin Mojtabai helped with interpretation of findings and reviewed/revised the article critically for important intellectual content. Dr. Katherine Keyes provided guidance for the conceptualization and design of the study, helped with interpretation of findings, and reviewed/revised the article critically for important intellectual content.

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Correspondence to Melanie S. Askari.

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Askari, M.S., Belsky, D.W., Olfson, M. et al. Poverty and birth cohort effects of experiencing the 2007–2009 Great Recession during adolescence on major depressive episodes and mental health treatment of young adults in the United States. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-024-02640-2

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