The effects of childhood ADHD on adult labor market outcomes
Open accessAbstract
Although several types of mental illness, including substance abuse disorders, have been linked with poor labor market outcomes, no current research has been able to examine the effects of childhood attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Because ADHD has become one of the most prevalent childhood mental conditions, it is useful to understand the full set of consequences of the illness. This article uses a longitudinal national sample, including sibling pairs, to show the important labor market outcome consequences of ADHD. The employment reduction is between 10 and 14 percentage points, the earnings reduction is approximately 33%, and the increase in social assistance is 15 points, figures that are larger than many estimates of the Black people/White people earnings gap and the gender earnings gap. A small share of the link is explained by educational attainments and co‐morbid health conditions and behaviors. The results also show important differences in labor market consequences by family background and age of onset. These findings, along with similar research showing that ADHD is linked with poor education outcomes and adult crime, suggest the importance of treating childhood ADHD to foster human capital. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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A longitudinal US study of about 15,000 adolescents found that those with ADHD had a 12% reduction in employment and a 34% reduction in earnings relative to non-ADHD siblings.
“A longitudinal study of some 15,000 U.S. adolescents reported that those with ADHD had a 12% reduction in employment and a 34% reduction in earnings relative to non-ADHD siblings”
From The World Federation of ADHD International Consensus Statement: 208 Evidence-based conclusions about the disorder (2021) · cites this paper as Fletcher, 2014
Data and Empirical Methods reports that about 15,000 participants were followed longitudinally, but the sibling analyses used nearly 3,500. The Results sections report 34–36% lower earnings and a 12–14 percentage-point reduction in employment compared with siblings; the claim incorrectly calls the employment difference a 12% reduction. Page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.90)
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- Authors
- Fletcher, J. M.
- Affiliations
- Yale University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Fletcher, Jason M.
- ORCID
- Fletcher, Jason M.
- Venue
- Health Economics
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2013-02-21
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 159-181
- ISSN
- 1057-9230 (ISSN-L)
- 1099-1050
- PMC
- PMC6714576
- OpenAlex
- W2120281496
- Cited by
- 205
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 6 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 5.93
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Health Economics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Yale University
- National Institutes of Health
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- National Institute on Aging (P30AG017266)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P01- HD31921, P01HD031921)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Labor market dynamics and wage inequality
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Keywords
- childhood ADHD, employment, earnings, social assistance, earnings gap, gender pay gap, educational attainment, comorbid health conditions, age of onset, family background, human capital, sibling comparison
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Child, Child, Preschool, Crime, Employment, Female, Humans, Income, Infant, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Mental Health, Public Assistance, Residence Characteristics, Sex Factors, Socioeconomic Factors, United States, Substance-Related Disorders, Siblings, Young Adult
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