Corruption and adolescent mental health: Evidence from Chinese junior high school admissions

Abstract Through preferential treatment by education officials or through bribery, some adolescents can obtain admission to a junior high school. However, It is unclear whether it affects the mental health of adolescents. This study used Propensity Score Matching (PSM) to examine the effects of corruption on adolescent mental health. A total of 17,254 junior high school students sample (11-18 years old; 48.7% girls and 53.1% boys) were used from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS). 14.1% of adolescents attended a junior high school by corrupt means, corruption had a significantly negative effect on the mental health of these adolescents (ATT = -0.388, p < 0.01), the reasons grounded in the fact that they received more criticisms from teachers (ATT = 0.081, p < 0.01) and wanted to leave their current school (ATT = 0.099, p < 0.01). In general, corruption in the admissions process can have detrimental effects on the mental health of adolescents. This study extends the previous articles on how to improve adolescent mental health and complements the application of cognitive dissonance theory. Findings from this study revealed that anti-corruption in the education sector is necessary, and the institutional design to ensure fair enrolment in basic education will contribute to the mental health of adolescents.