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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2019 Mar:225:108-119.
doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.01.037. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Government of Malawi's unconditional cash transfer improves youth mental health

Gustavo Angeles  1 , Jacobus de Hoop  2 , Sudhanshu Handa  3 , Kelly Kilburn  4 , Annamaria Milazzo  5 , Amber Peterman  5 ; Malawi Social Cash Transfer Evaluation Team
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Government of Malawi's unconditional cash transfer improves youth mental health

Gustavo Angeles et al. Soc Sci Med. 2019 Mar.

Abstract

We explore the impacts of Malawi's national unconditional cash transfer program targeting ultra-poor households on youth mental health. Experimental findings show that the program significantly improved mental health outcomes. Among girls in particular, the program reduces indications of depression by about 15 percentage points. We investigate the contribution of different possible pathways to the overall program impact, including education, health, consumption, caregiver's stress levels and life satisfaction, perceived social support, and participation in hard and unpleasant work. The pathways explain from 46 to 65 percent of the program impact, advancing our understanding of how economic interventions can affect mental health of youth in resource-poor settings. The findings underline that unconditional cash grants, which are used on an increasingly large scale as part of national social protection systems in Sub-Saharan Africa, have the potential to improve youth mental wellbeing and thus may help break the vicious cycle of poverty and poor mental health.

Keywords: Cash transfers; Malawi; Mental health; Poverty; RCT; Youth.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Study design and sample for baseline to endline longitudinal sample of youth. Sample represents the longitudinal panel of youth interviewed at baseline and again at endline with non-missing mental health indicators. Approximately 10 youth in the baseline-endline sample were missing any indicators which comprise the CES-D and therefore are dropped from the analysis. In addition, the longitudinal sample at midline is 652 youth (Treatment) 640 youth (Control) for a total panel of 1292 youth (not shown). Approximately 6 youth in the baseline-midline sample were missing any indicators which comprise the CES-D score and therefore are dropped from the analysis.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Cumulative distribution functions of CES-D by gender and treatment status Notes: The figures show Gaussian probability curves with the same mean and standard deviation of the empirical CDFs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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