The Impact of Learning Disabilities on Children and Parental Outcomes - Evidence from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Callum

The paper profiles children and young adults identified in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics as having a learning disability and tests whether diagnostic-criteria legislative changes influence diagnosis likelihood. It links learning-disability identification to less favorable early-life outcomes, including legal trouble, substance use, violent behavior, incarceration, lower self-reported well-being, weaker education, and poorer labor-market results. It also finds lower maternal labor-market participation among mothers of diagnosed children.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages62

Reading Time2 h 36 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

No. 23-7 The Impact of Learning Disabilities on Children and Parental Outcomes: Evidence from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Rachel Cummings and María José Luengo-Prado Abstract: We document the characteristics of children and young adults identified in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics as having a learning disability and study whether legislative changes in diagnosis criteria have had a noticeable effect determining who receives a diagnosis. We further document that children and young adults identified as a having a learning disability experience less desirable outcomes early in life, including trouble with the police, drug use, violent behavior, incarceration, self-reported low levels of well-being, lower educational attainment, and less favorable labor market outcomes. We also find that the mothers of children diagnosed with learning disabilities are less likely than other mothers to participate in the labor market. JEL Classifications: J24, I24 Keywords: learning disabilities, young adult outcomes, labor market outcomes Rachel Cummings ([rachel.cummings.econ@gmail.com](rachel.cummings.econ@gmail.com)) was a senior research assistant in the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department when she coauthored this paper. María José Luengo-Prado ([maria@luengoprado.net](maria@luengoprado.net)) is a senior economist and policy advisor in Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department. The authors thank Daniel Cooper for helpful suggestions. This paper presents preliminary analysis and results intended to stimulate discussion and critical comment. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not indicate concurrence by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the principals of the Board of Governors, or the Federal Reserve System. This paper, which may be revised, is available on the website of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston at [https://www.bostonfed.org/publications/research-department-working-paper.aspx](https://www.bostonfed.org/publications/research-department-working-paper.aspx). This version: July 2023 [https://doi.org/10.29412/res.wp.2023.07](https://doi.org/10.29412/res.wp.2023.07) 1 Introduction Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), this paper studies the effects of learning disabilities on several childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood outcomes, including employment and labor force participation. The paper also documents how the presence of children with learning disabilities in the household affects their parents’ labor market outcomes. While previous research has studied many of the associations between learning disabilities and childhood outcomes identified in this paper (for example, individuals diagnosed with learning disabilities are more likely to report lower levels of emotional well-being and are also more likely to run into trouble with the law), the effects on parents, to our knowledge, are not well documented. We find that the mothers of children diagnosed with learning disabilities are less likely than other mothers to participate in the labor market, even after we control for mothers’ own learning disabilities and an array of other factors known to affect labor force participation and employment. One goal of this paper is to raise awareness among economists of an area that has received much more attention in other disciplines. While significant progress has been made in understanding and supporting children with learning disabilities, proper cost-benefit analysis and abetter understanding of the causal effects and scalability of various interventions are in order. The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) estimates that 20 percent of children in the United States have learning and attention problems (see Horowitz, Rawe, and Whittaker 2017) . At a time when the labor supply has been stunted, tapping the neurodiverse population is more important than ever. A second goal of this paper is to highlight the PSID as a potential res

FAQs

How does the paper identify children and young adults with learning disabilities?

It uses the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to document characteristics of children and young adults identified as having a learning disability.

What early-life outcomes are associated with learning disabilities in the study?

The study reports less desirable early outcomes, including trouble with the police, drug use, violent behavior, incarceration, lower well-being, lower educational attainment, and less favorable labor-market outcomes.

What does the paper find about mothers of children diagnosed with learning disabilities?

Mothers of children diagnosed with learning disabilities are less likely than other mothers to participate in the labor market, even after controlling for mothers’ own learning disabilities and other factors.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Callum