RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 In-Person Schooling and Youth Suicide
JF Journal of Human Resources
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP S227
OP S255
DO 10.3368/jhr.1222-12710R2
VO 59
IS S
A1 Hansen, Benjamin
A1 Sabia, Joseph J.
A1 Schaller, Jessamyn
YR 2024
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/59/S/S227.abstract
AB This study explores the effect of in-person schooling on youth suicide in the United States. We show that youth suicide rates historically declined during summers and rose again earlier in counties with an August school starting date. We document a departure from this pattern at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: youth suicides fell 25 percent in March 2020, when schools closed, and remained low throughout summer. Leveraging county variation in the timing of reopening, we find that returning to in-person instruction increased youth suicides by 12–18 percent. Analysis of Google search data suggests that bullying is a likely mechanism.