Mental health problems in adolescence, first births, and union formation: Evidence from the Young HUNT Study

While a large literature documents how mental health problems in adolescence have long-term consequences for adult socioeconomic outcomes, less is known about the relation with family-formation behavior. In this paper, we use data from a population based Norwegian health survey (the Young-HUNT study) linked to administrative registry data (N = 8,113) to examine the long-term consequences of symptoms of internalizing and externalizing problems, the two most common forms of mental health problems, on family-formation outcomes: the likelihood of a first birth, the union status of a first birth, and entering first marriage. For men, externalizing problems are associated with earlier parenthood, especially becoming a father without having a coresidential relationship with the child's mother. Internalizing problems, on the other hand, are associated with lower first-birth rates and the association grows progressively stronger with age. We also find that the associations are more pronounced among men with low childhood socioeconomic status. In contrast, women's family-formation appears for the most part unrelated to their mental health.