Rational self-medication

We develop a model of rational self-medication in which individuals use potentially dangerous or addictive substances (e.g., alcohol) to manage symptoms of illness (e.g., depression) outside of formal medical care. A model implication is that the emergence of better treatments reduces incentives to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Economics and human biology 2024-04, Vol.53, p.101350-101350, Article 101350
Main Authors: Darden, Michael E., Papageorge, Nicholas W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alcohol Drinking
Depression
Depression - drug therapy
Female
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Mental health
Middle Aged
Motivation
Rational addiction
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors - therapeutic use
Self Medication
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Summary:We develop a model of rational self-medication in which individuals use potentially dangerous or addictive substances (e.g., alcohol) to manage symptoms of illness (e.g., depression) outside of formal medical care. A model implication is that the emergence of better treatments reduces incentives to self-medicate. To investigate, we use forty years of longitudinal data from the Framingham Heart Study and leverage the exogenous introduction of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). We demonstrate an economically meaningful reduction in alcohol consumption when SSRIs became available. Our findings illustrate how the effects of medical innovation operate, in part, through changes in behavior. •We introduce a model of self-medication of mental health.•The introduction of a new antidepressant (i.e., SSRIs) changes the relative benefits of alcohol. Rational agents switch to antidepressants.•We show evidence of this substitution using 40 years of longitudinal from the Framingham Heart Study.
ISSN:1570-677X
1873-6130
DOI:10.1016/j.ehb.2024.101350