Poverty, depression, and anxiety: Causal evidence and mechanisms
Open accessAbstract
Taxing mental health: Mental equilibrium is essential for an economically productive life in both industrialized and developing countries. Accumulating evidence shows that mental ill-health and poverty tend to be traveling partners, but which is the cause? Ridley et al. reviewed the literature on natural and controlled economic experiments involving individuals living in poverty. The authors sought to resolve the mechanisms whereby poverty triggers mental illness and how mental illness compounds poverty. Their results reveal the benefits of cash support and of low-cost therapeutic interventions for those suffering from mental illness under poverty. Science , this issue p. eaay0214
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Uncertainty and anticipation of economic shocks, not just their occurrence, are a significant causal mechanism linking poverty and mental illness.
“In the realm of sociopolitical adversities, uncertainty and anticipation of economic shocks, not just their occurrence, were highlighted as a significant causal mechanism linking poverty and mental illness [48].”
From Impact of Media-Induced Uncertainty on Mental Health: Narrative-Based Perspective. (2025) · cites this paper as [48]
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References 154 · Cited by 1,220
- Authors
- Ridley, M., Rao, G., Schilbach, F., & Patel, V.
- Affiliations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Schilbach, Frank
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 2020-12-11
- Volume
- 370
- Issue
- 6522
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- OpenAlex
- W3024664944
- Cited by
- 1,220
- References
- 154
- Citations by year
- 2026: 217 · 2025: 292 · 2024: 240 · 2023: 191 · 2022: 180 · 2021: 91 · 2020: 7 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 22.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- correction (2024-03-21)
- Open access
- green
- handle.uba.uva.nl
- Licence
- other-oa
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ePrints Soton (University of Southampton) (acceptedVersion)
- UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Employment and Welfare Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Keywords
- poverty, depression, anxiety, mental illness, bidirectional causality, employment, income, psychological intervention, economic shocks, cash transfers, antipoverty programs, mental health policy
- MeSH terms
- Anxiety, Depression, Employment, Humans, Income, Mental Health, Poverty
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