TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Hadah, Hussain
        TI  - Peer Effects in Adolescent Mental Health
        PY  - 2026/May/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 18623
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp18623
        AB  - This paper examines peer mental health’s influence on adolescents’ wellbeing, academic performance, and behavior. Using friends-of-friends as an instrument, I find that a one standard deviation increase in friends’ mental unwellness is associated with a 0.67 standard deviation increase in one’s own. Peers’ therapy participation significantly reduces individual mental unwellness while increasing therapy participation likelihood, highlighting positive spillover effects of interventions. The results reveal significant negative effects of peer mental unwellness on personal mental health, academic achievement, physical health, and risky behavior, confirming that adolescent mental health constitutes a social contagion.
        KW  - social network
KW  - peer effects
KW  - mental health
KW  - social contagion
KW  - instrumental variable
KW  - Add Health data set
        ER  -