Barker, Nathan, Bryan, Gharad ORCID: 0009-0000-2449-930X, Karlan, Dean, Ofori-Atta, Angela L. and Udry, Christopher
(2022)
Cognitive behavioral therapy among Ghana’s rural poor is effective regardless of baseline mental distress.
American Economic Review: Insights, 4 (4).
527 - 545.
ISSN 2640-205X
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Abstract
We study the impact of group-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for individuals selected from the general population of poor households in rural Ghana (N = 7,227). Results from one to three months after the program show strong impacts on mental and perceived physical health, cognitive and socioemotional skills, and economic self-perceptions. These effects hold regardless of baseline mental distress. We argue that this is because CBT can improve well-being for a general population of poor individuals through two pathways: reducing vulnerability to deteriorating mental health and directly increasing cognitive capacity and socioemotional skills.
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