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The pathways through which neighborhood poverty can affect resident depression are still unknown. We investigated mechanisms through which neighborhood poverty may influence depression among older adults. Participants were drawn from the New York City Neighborhood and Mental Health in the Elderly Study II, a 3-wave study of adults aged 65-75 (n=3,497) at baseline. Neighborhood poverty and homicide were associated with depressive symptoms at follow-up waves (RR:1.20, 95%CI: 1.05, 1.36; RR: 1.09, 95%CI: 1.02, 1.17, respectively). Homicide accounted for 30% of the effect of neighborhood poverty on depressive symptoms. Neighborhood exposure to violence may be a key mechanism through which neighborhood poverty influences depression among older adults., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Family- and neighborhood-level poverty are associated with youth violence. Economic policies may address this risk factor by reducing parental stress and increasing opportunities. The federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is the largest cash transfer program in the US providing support to low-income working families. Many states have additional EITCs that vary in structure and generosity. To estimate the association between state EITC and youth violence, we conducted a repeated cross-sectional analysis using the variation in state EITC generosity over time by state and self-reported data in the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) from 2005 to 2019. We estimated the association for all youth and then stratified by sex and race and ethnicity. A 10-percentage point greater state EITC was significantly associated with 3.8% lower prevalence of physical fighting among youth, overall (PR: 0.96; 95% CI 0.94-0.99), and for male students, 149 fewer (95% CI: -243, -55) students per 10,000 experiencing physical fighting. A 10-percentage point greater state EITC was significantly associated with 118 fewer (95% CI: -184, -52) White students per 10,000 experiencing physical fighting in the past 12 months while reductions among Black students (75 fewer; 95% CI: -176, 26) and Hispanic/Latino students (14 fewer; 95% CI: -93, 65) were not statistically significant. State EITC generosity was not significantly associated with measures of violence at school. Economic policies that increase financial security and provide financial resources may reduce the burden of youth violence; further attention to their differential benefits among specific population subgroups is warranted.

Poverty is an important predictor of child maltreatment. Social policies that strengthen the economic security of low-income families, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), may reduce child maltreatment by impeding the pathways through which poverty leads to it. We used variations in the presence and generosity of supplementary EITCs offered at the state level and administrative child maltreatment data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) to examine the effect of EITC policies on state-level rates of child maltreatment from 2004 through 2017. Two-way fixed effects models indicated that a 10-percentage point increase in the generosity of refundable state EITC benefits was associated with 241 fewer reports of neglect per 100,000 children (95% Confidence Interval [CI] [−449, −33]). An increase in EITC generosity was associated with fewer reports of neglect both among children ages 0–5 (−324 per 100,000; 95% CI [−582, −65]) and children ages 6–17 (−201 per 100,000; 95% CI [−387, −15]). Findings also suggested associations between the EITC and reductions in other types of maltreatment (physical abuse, emotional abuse); however, those did not gain statistical significance. Economic support policies may reduce the risk of child maltreatment, especially neglect, and improve child wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the relationship between the presence and generosity of state‐level Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC) and multiple self‐reported measures of general health. Data Sources: Data on state‐level tax credits and covariates were obtained from the National Bureau of Economic Research and University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research, respectively. These data were merged with Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey records from 1993‐2016. Study Design: Using difference‐in‐differences approaches and survey‐weighted Poisson regression that accounted for clustering of observations and included state and year fixed‐effects, we assessed relationships between EITC and self‐reported overall health, frequent mental distress, and frequent poor physical health in the prior 30 days. Covariates included state minimum wage, state GDP, and adoption of Medicaid expansion. Sensitivity analyses revealed that parallel trends were plausible; there were no significant lead and lag effects. Data Extraction Methods: Analyses were restricted to respondents with no more than a high school diploma or equivalent because less‐educated adults are more likely to be low‐wage earners and therefore qualify for EITC. Principal Findings: Among adults with no education beyond high school (n = 2 884 790), each additional 10‐percentage‐point increase in the generosity of state EITC—relative to the federal credit—was associated with fewer reports of frequent mental distress (−97.3 per 100 000; 95% CI: −237.2, 42.6) and frequent poor physical health (−149.6 per 100 000; 95% CI: −284.4, −14.9). When restricted to individuals interviewed during the three months when tax rebates are commonly disbursed, the magnitude of the association between EITC and prevalence of reported frequent mental distress was greater (−329.7 per 100 000; 95% CI: −636.0, −23.5). Conclusions: The generosity of state EITC policies is positively associated with significant reductions in frequent mental distress and poor physical health, especially during months when the credit is received. Interventions to reduce poverty may positively impact health by reducing material hardship and stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wage theft - employers not paying workers their legally entitled wages and benefits - costs workers billions of dollars annually. We tested whether preventing wage theft could increase U.S. life expectancy and decrease inequities therein. We obtained nationally representative estimates of the 2001-2014 association between income and expected age at death for 40-year-olds (40 plus life expectancy at age 40) compiled from tax and Social Security Administration records, and estimates of the burden of wage theft from several sources, including estimates regarding minimum-wage violations (not paying workers the minimum wage) developed from Current Population Survey data. After modeling the relationship between income and expected age at death, we simulated the effects of scenarios preventing wage theft on mean expected age at death, assuming a causal effect of income on expected age at death. We simulated several scenarios, including one using data suggesting minimum-wage violations constituted 38% of all wage theft and caused 58% of affected workers' losses. Among women in the lowest income decile, mean expected age at death was 0.17 years longer in the counterfactual scenario than observed (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.11-0.22), corresponding to 528,685 (95% CI: 346,018-711,353) years extended in the total 2001-2014 age-40 population. Among men in the lowest decile, the estimates were 0.12 (95% CI: 0.07-0.17) and 380,502 (95% CI: 229,630-531,374). Moreover, among women, mean expected age at death in the counterfactual scenario increased 0.16 (95% CI: 0.06-0.27) years more among the lowest decile than among the highest decile; among men, the estimate was 0.12 (95% CI: 0.03-0.21). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicide is an increasingly common cause of death in the United States and recent increases in suicide rates disproportionately impact low income individuals. We sought to assess the impact of income support in the form of state earned income tax credit policies on suicide-related behaviors. This state-level study used repeated cross-sectional data from vital records and the National Survey of Drug Use and Health data representative at the state-level. The population included adults who either died by suicide or were selected for in-person NSDUH interviews between 2008 and 2018. Exposure was measured as the generosity of a refundable state earned income tax credit policy measured as a percentage of the federal policy. Outcomes assessed were suicidal ideation, suicidal planning, non-fatal suicide attempt, suicide deaths, and combined fatal and non-fatal suicide attempts. Analyses were performed between April and June 2020. A 10 percentage-point increase in the generosity of state earned income tax credit was associated with lower frequency of non-fatal suicide attempts (prevalence ratio [PR] = 0.96; 95% CI: 0.93–0.99), combined fatal and non-fatal suicide attempts (PR = 0.96; 95% CI: 0.93–0.99), and suicide deaths (PR = 0.99; 95% CI: 0.99–1.00). This translates to 4 fewer suicide attempts per 10,000 population each year. Generous state earned income tax credit policies are associated with reductions in the frequency of most severe suicidal behavior. Income support policies may be one way to reduce suicide attempts and death, especially among low-income adults. • Policies that alleviate poverty can be used as suicide prevention. • Tax credits are a mechanism to reduce suicide attempts. • Fatal and non-fatal suicidal behavior can be influenced through economic policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]