Peer-reviewed article
The Effects of the 2021 Child Tax Credit on Parents’ Psychological Well-Being
Lisa A. Gennetian, Anna Gassman‐Pines ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This article reviews research on how the 2021 US Child Tax Credit affected parents' psychological well-being. Some studies found the credit reduced depression and anxiety among parents, while others found no effect. The evidence overall is mixed and limited, with no studies showing the credit made parents worse off.
Key points
- Some studies found the Child Tax Credit reduced clinical depression and anxiety in parents
- Other studies using similar methods found no psychological effects
- No evidence showed the credit worsened parents' psychological well-being
- Overall evidence base is thin and mixed on this outcome
- Better alignment of policy objectives to measurement approaches is needed
Limitations
This is a review article focused on parents' mental health outcomes rather than children's well-being. It does not present direct evidence about how the credit affected child outcomes such as health, education, nutrition, or development.
Abstract
Improving the psychological well-being of parents who received the 2021 expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) was not an explicit focus of that benefit program, but psychological effects may have been felt, given the positive income shocks generated by the credit. This article reviews academic research that is available on the CTC’s effect on parents’ psychological well-being. Some studies have found that the CTC led to reductions in reported levels of clinical depression and anxiety among parents and in their subclinical depressive and anxiety symptoms. Other studies that have used similar methods find no effects on those outcomes. Importantly, the evidence does not point to the CTC worsening psychological well-being. Overall, evidence on this topic is thin and mixed, even when comparable studies on the impact of income support are also included in the review. We argue that building a more conclusive evidence base would require tighter alignment of policy objectives to measurement approaches.