Cognitive Behavioral Therapy among Ghana's Rural Poor Is Effective Regardless of Baseline Mental Distress
AER: Insights · 2022 · Nathan Barker、Gharad Bryan、Dean Karlan、Angela Ofori-Atta、Christopher Udry
中文摘要
我们研究了团体认知行为疗法（CBT）对从加纳农村贫困家庭一般人群中选取的个体的影响（N = 7,227）。项目结束后一至三个月的结果显示，该疗法对心理健康、自评身体健康、认知与社会情感技能以及经济自我认知均产生了较强影响。无论基线心理困扰程度如何，这些效应均成立。我们认为，这是因为 CBT 可以通过两条路径改善贫困一般人群的福祉：降低其对心理健康恶化的易感性，以及直接提升认知能力与社会情感技能。（JEL D12, I12, I15, I31, I32, O12, O18）
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. (JEL D12, I12, I15, I31, I32, O12, O18)