Maternal Mental Health Responses to COVID-19 Shocks and Uncertainty in Rural Pakistan

In this paper, we investigate the association between a battery of mental health measures and experienced morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19, worry about disease risk, experienced economic shocks, and economic uncertainty about the future. We find that an environment of heightened economic uncertainty might impact mental health, above and beyond the effects of realized shocks. A 1 s.d. increase in economic uncertainty is associated with a 0.223 s.d. decrease in mental health. This association is strongest among women who were depressed at baseline. We also find that current uncertainty is associated with future economic shocks.