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A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents

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Published on: July 10, 2017

Effects of a conditional cash transfer program on children's behavior problems.

Emily J Ozer¹, Lia C H Fernald, James G Manley

¹School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 50 University Hall, MC 7360, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360, USA. eozer@berkeley.edu

|April 2, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Conditional cash transfers in Mexico reduced aggressive behaviors in children by 10%. This program, Oportunidades, showed indirect positive effects on child development by investing in basic needs.

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Area of Science:

Child Development
Poverty Reduction Programs
Behavioral Science

Background:

Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs are increasingly used globally to mitigate poverty's impact on child development.
While CCT benefits for nutrition and physical growth are documented, their effects on child behavior remain under-evaluated.
This study focuses on the behavioral outcomes of a large-scale CCT program in Mexico.

Purpose of the Study:

To evaluate the impact of the Oportunidades conditional cash transfer program on children's behavior.
To assess changes in anxiety/depressive and aggressive/oppositional symptoms among children exposed to the program.
To utilize a quasi-experimental design for robust impact assessment.

Main Methods:

A quasi-experimental design compared children aged 4-6 from Oportunidades beneficiary households (n=778) with a matched comparison group (n=263).
Beneficiary children had 3.5 to 5.0 years of program exposure, receiving cash contingent on healthcare visits, nutritional supplements, and school enrollment.
Maternal reports of child behavior problems (anxiety/depressive, aggressive/oppositional symptoms) were the primary outcome measures.

Main Results:

Participation in Oportunidades was associated with a statistically significant 10% reduction in aggressive/oppositional symptoms.
No significant effects were observed on anxiety/depressive symptoms or overall problem behaviors.
Program effects on behavior were consistent across children of different genders and ethnicities.

Conclusions:

The Oportunidades program demonstrated indirect positive effects on children's behavior, specifically reducing aggression.
Findings suggest that investments in human capital through CCT programs can yield long-term developmental benefits beyond immediate objectives.
This highlights the potential of broad-based poverty reduction strategies to influence child behavioral outcomes.