Modrek Sepideh, Rehkopf David H
Department of Economics and Health Equity Institute, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, USA.
Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2025 May 8;80(6). doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbae207.
To investigate whether childhood exposure to local area New Deal emergency employment work relief activity was associated with lower depressive symptoms in late life.
This study utilized individual-level data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) linked to the full count 1940 census. New Deal emergency employment programs were the largest nonwartime expansion in government-led infrastructure, services, and employment policy in U.S. history. We used within-county variation in WLS participants' exposure to emergency employment work relief activity during childhood (aged 0-3) to examine its association with depressive symptoms in late life. We examined depressive symptoms at 3 ages, 53-55, 65-67, and 72-74 but with a focus on depressive symptoms at ages 72-74 as a marker for late-life depression.
Children who lived in neighborhoods with moderate or high levels of emergency employment work relief activity exhibited 14%-18% lower depressive symptom scores at ages 72-74 compared with those from neighborhoods with low activity. These findings were consistent across various measures of late-life depressive symptoms, different model specifications, and after accounting for prior depressive symptoms.
The study highlights the long-term mental health benefits of economic policies aimed at mitigating concentrated economic downturns among the most impacted individuals. Childhood exposure to New Deal work relief reduced depressive symptoms in older age, particularly new onsets of depressive symptoms at ages 72-74. These results suggest social policies aimed at maintaining economic activity in downturns can have long-term positive impacts on the population mental health.
调查儿童时期接触当地新政紧急就业工作救济活动是否与晚年较低的抑郁症状相关。
本研究利用了与1940年完整人口普查数据相链接的威斯康星纵向研究（WLS）中的个人层面数据。新政紧急就业计划是美国历史上政府主导的基础设施、服务和就业政策中最大规模的非战时扩张。我们利用WLS参与者在童年时期（0至3岁）接触紧急就业工作救济活动的县内差异，来检验其与晚年抑郁症状的关联。我们在三个年龄段（53至55岁、65至67岁和72至74岁）考察了抑郁症状，但重点关注72至74岁时的抑郁症状，将其作为晚年抑郁症的一个指标。
与来自活动水平较低社区的儿童相比，生活在紧急就业工作救济活动水平中等或较高社区的儿童在72至74岁时的抑郁症状得分低14%至18%。这些发现在晚年抑郁症状的各种测量方法、不同的模型设定以及考虑了先前的抑郁症状之后都是一致的。
该研究强调了旨在缓解受影响最严重人群集中经济衰退的经济政策对长期心理健康的益处。儿童时期接触新政工作救济减少了老年人的抑郁症状，尤其是72至74岁时新出现的抑郁症状。这些结果表明，旨在在经济衰退期间维持经济活动的社会政策可以对人群心理健康产生长期的积极影响。
