Local Exposure to School Shootings and Youth Antidepressant Use

41 Pages Posted: 14 Jan 2020

See all articles by Maya Rossin-Slater

Maya Rossin-Slater

Stanford University

Molly Schnell

Northwestern University - Department of Economics

Hannes Schwandt

Northwestern University

Sam Trejo

HEC Paris

Lindsey Uniat

Stanford University

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: December 2019

Abstract

While over 240,000 American students experienced a school shooting in the last two decades, little is known about the impacts of these events on the mental health of surviving youth. Using large-scale prescription data from 2006 to 2015, we examine the effects of 44 school shootings on youth antidepressant use in a difference-in-difference framework. We find that local exposure to fatal school shootings increases youth antidepressant use by 21.4 percent in the following two years. These effects are smaller in areas with a higher density of mental health providers who focus on behavioral, rather than pharmacological, interventions.

Suggested Citation

Rossin-Slater, Maya and Schnell, Molly and Schwandt, Hannes and Trejo, Sam and Uniat, Lindsey, Local Exposure to School Shootings and Youth Antidepressant Use (December 2019). CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP14238, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3518576

Maya Rossin-Slater (Contact Author)

Stanford University ( email )

Stanford, CA 94305
United States

Molly Schnell

Northwestern University - Department of Economics ( email )

2003 Sheridan Road
Evanston, IL 60208
United States

Hannes Schwandt

Northwestern University ( email )

2001 Sheridan Road
Evanston, IL 60208
United States

Sam Trejo

HEC Paris ( email )

1 rue de la Liberation
Jouy-en-Josas Cedex, 78351
France

Lindsey Uniat

Stanford University ( email )

Stanford, CA 94305
United States

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