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Intergenerational Mobility in Depression and Anxiety in India

Intergenerational Mobility in Depression and Anxiety in India
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Intergenerational Mobility in Depression and Anxiety in India

Working Paper Number
2025-116
Publication Year
2025
Authors
Justine Hervé
Subha Mani
Jere R. Behrman
Ramanan Laxminarayan
Arindam Nandi
Paper Abstract
This paper is the first to provide estimates of intergenerational associations in mental health for a low- and middle-income country. Using rich mental health data on ∼4,000 parent-child pairs in India, we find intergenerational associations in depression and anxiety scores to be 0.61 and 0.68, respectively, suggesting low mobility in mental health. However, once we allow for the mobility estimates to vary along the distribution of parental mental health, we find notable heterogeneity- while minimal symptoms of anxiety and depression in parents persist into the next generation, children of parents with mild to severe symptoms experience significant improvements in mental health. This upward mobility in mental health is largely driven by high
socioeconomic-status households. Importantly, we show that even minimal symptoms have significant economic implications for both children and adults. Our findings suggest that programs that improve mental health in one generation can also facilitate intergenerational mobility in mental health and related outcomes.
Acknowledgements

This work was supported by 3ie (International Initiatives for Impact Evaluation), UPIASI (University of Pennsylvania Institute for the Advanced Study of India), and the India Research Engagement Fund (IREF) at the University of Pennsylvania. We thank Pranava Kadiyala, Aanchal Bagga, and Abhik Banerji for excellent research assistance.

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The Population Studies Center (PSC) at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) was founded in 1962 and stands as an international leader in research and training on the dynamic structure, organization, and health and well-being of human populations. The services that PSC provides have been funded by infrastructure grants awarded by the Population Dynamics Branch at Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) since 1978. The center and its associates are also supported by research grants and contracts awarded by federal agencies including the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation and by private foundations. Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences is the administrative home of the PSC and provides generous dedicated support to the center.

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