The Hidden Cost of Prenatal Heat Stress Exposure: Evidence on Psychological Well-Being in China

This paper examines how exposure to extreme heat during gestation affects psychological well-being in adulthood by using nationally representative data from China. We find that prenatal exposure to heat stress significantly increases unhappiness, life dissatisfaction, and depressive symptoms later in life. These adverse effects are particularly pronounced among women and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, including those born in vulnerable settings or raised in unfavorable family environments. The timing of exposure suggests that heat stress disrupts neurologic and brain development during the second and third trimesters, subsequently impeding human and social capital formation. Our findings reveal welfare costs of in utero environmental shocks and their lasting implications for mental health.