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Health Impact on Children's Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills

Explore the relationship between child health and cognitive/noncognitive skills, highlighting the impact of chronic health conditions. Data analysis shows correlations between health issues, skills development, and socioeconomic factors.

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Health Impact on Children's Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills

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  1. The Relationship Between Health and Cognitive as well as Noncognitive Skills in Children Daniel Schunk University of Zurich, Switzerland

  2. Motivation • Developmentalgapsin cognitiveandnoncognitiveskills • open upearly in life, and • are a sourceofseveresocioeconomicinequalities in adulthood • Research question:Whatistheroleofchildhealth in theformationofthesegaps? • Salm/Schunk (JEEA): Cognitiveand verbal skills • Bartling/Fehr/Schunk (in progress): Noncognitiveskills

  3. Salm/Schunk: Data • Confidential administrative data from medical school entrance examinations in Osnabrück/Germany • Compulsory for every child at the age of 6 years • Administered by government pediatricians • Siblings can be identified • Unfortunately, children cannot be followed over time, no further data collection.

  4. Salm and Schunk: Estimation • Outcome variable: (1)CPM-score, (2) Verbal ability • Independent variables: • Ear condition • Eye condition • Weight • Size • Asthma • Allergies • Birth weight, pH-value of umbilical cord • Hyperactivity, peer problems, conduct problems • Family socioeconomic characteristics, birth order, kindergarden attendance, #siblings etc… • Estimation of sibling fixed effect models Chronichealthconditions Mental health/personality Sociodemographics

  5. Salm/Schunk: Key Results • Physicalhealthconditionsare not associatedwithlowercognitiveskills, very mild negative associationforsomeconditions. • Mental healthconditions (physician-ratedorparent-rated) arenegativelyassociatedwithcognitiveskills. • Closerlook: Mostlydrivenbyhyperactivity • Decompositionanalysis: Mental healthconditionsaccountfor • 14%-36% ofthegap in CPM • 23%-24% ofthegap in verbal ability • Possibleinterpretation: Parentsoflower SES arelessabletocompensateforthe negative effectsof mental healthproblems on cognitiveand verbal ability

  6. Bartling/Fehr/Schunk: Idea • A person‘swillingnesstocompeteis • correlatedwithpersonalitycharacteristics(e.g. Big 5, Bartling et al., 2009) • a noncognitiveskillwhichis an importantdeterminantof human capital (e.g. Sutter/Rützler, 2010) • Is healthassociatedwith a child‘swillingnesstocompete?

  7. Bartling/Fehr/Schunk: Data • From a specialmoduleofthe German Socioeconomic Panel (GSOEP) • Willingnesstocompeteismeasuredusing an incentivized real effortexperiment • Childrenchoosewhethertheirpayoffisdeterminedby a tournamentor a piece-rate paymentscheme. • Detailedinformation on thechild‘ssocioeconomicbackground, parental behaviorand on chronicchildhealthconditions (self-reportedbytheparents) isavailable • Unfortunatelynosiblingdatayet.

  8. Bartling/Fehr/Schunk: Key results • Healthconditionsarenegativelyassociatedwith a child‘swillingnesstocompete. • The negative associationis strong forparentsoflow SES, but does not appearforparentsofhigh SES. • Possibleinterpretation: Parentsoflower SES arelessabletocompensateforthe negative effectsofhealthproblems on theirchildren‘swillingnesstocompete

  9. Summary • Accumulatingevidencethat • (certain) chronichealthconditionsandcognitiveas well asnoncognitiveskillsarenegativelyassociated • parentsoflower SES arelessabletocompensateforhealthimpairmentsoftheirchildrenthanparentsofhigher SES • More reliableevidencethatcanbeusedforpolicyneedspaneldata on thedevelopmentofhealth, skills, andpersonalityatyoungage.

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