Examining the Effect of Victimization on Depression: A Causal Inference Approach

• In Event: Short and Long Term Responses To Victimization

Abstract

Prior research has found victimization can have negative effects on mental health, leading victims to suffer from depression, suicidal ideation, and PTSD. However, questions remain as to whether victimization has a causal effect on mental health irrespective of individual and genetic factors that also impact health. The purpose of this study is to fill this gap in the literature by estimating if victimization has a causal effect on depression after controlling for other individual sources of health and victimization using a longitudinal model with fixed effects with data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Generally, it is not possible to estimate causal effects from non-experimental data due to the potential of omitted variable bias. To address this limitation, I employ several innovative techniques to test the robustness of causal estimates from non-experimental research. Thus, I directly assess the degree to which the effect of victimization is confounded by omitted variables. If the estimates are robust to omitted variables then it strengthens the claims of causal inference. The results revealed that victimization did not have a causal effect on depression. In addition, the estimates of victimization were not particularly robust and thus potentially confounded with omitted variables.

Author

• Roderick Leon Pearson, University of Cincinnati