Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025 • Brian Lopez : Contact

University of Texas at Arlington economist Ashish Sedai has earned international recognition for research that shows strengthening relationships between parents can improve children’s mental health and educational outcomes.

His study recently received the Best Paper Prize from Standard Error, an international honor presented at this year’s Economics of Mental Health Workshop. Previous winners include researchers from the Sorbonne and other leading global institutions.

The benefits were especially notable among girls.

“Our study demonstrates that even low-cost, scalable interventions within households can make a major difference in children’s mental health,” said Dr. Sedai, assistant professor in the Department of Economics. “By helping parents strengthen their relationships through group counseling and activities designed around traditional gender roles, we found measurable improvements in girls’ self-esteem, school attendance and family investment in education.”

Sedai’s research stood out among large-scale, high-cost research projects for its innovative design and focus on affordability. The randomized control trial, conducted in India, used group counseling sessions and traditional gender-based activities to strengthen couples’ relationships. Researchers then measured the impact not on the parents themselves, but on their children, particularly daughters.

“This was one of the most innovative randomized control trials the reviewers had read in recent years,” Sedai said. “Our intervention looked inside the household rather than outside, showing that something as simple as improving marital relationships can have cascading effects on children’s mental health, school attendance and confidence.”

The study found that girls whose parents participated in the sessions reported stronger self-esteem, improved peer and parental relationships, and greater self-efficacy. Families also invested more in their daughters’ education, and girls missed fewer school days. Boys were less affected by the intervention, underscoring how girls often bear the brunt of household conflict in low-resource settings.

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Award reviewers praised the study for overcoming common biases in experimental economics. By treating parents but measuring outcomes in children, the research avoided the demand bias often seen in randomized trials.

“Eighty-four percent of adolescents in India with mental health needs go untreated,” Sedai said. “By focusing on relationships within the household, our study offers a pathway to address that gap in a sustainable, low-cost way.”

The recognition places UTA alongside some of the world’s top research universities. Sedai said that when his paper was honored next to work from Cambridge, Cornell, George Mason, Indiana, Washington State and others, colleagues recognized UTA as an institution producing impactful, innovative research.

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“For that moment, people got to know that UT Arlington is doing important work in economics and mental health,” Sedai said. “This award shows that our faculty are competing at the same level as scholars at globally renowned universities.”

Sedai credited UTA’s Department of Economics and its leadership for supporting his research and career.

“This award is not just for me—it reflects my department’s commitment to research,” he said. “My chair, Bill Crowder, has always encouraged me to pursue ambitious projects, attend international conferences and share our work globally. Being at UTA has given me the academic freedom and support to do this research.”

Growing up in rural India, Sedai described the honor as deeply personal.

“Coming from a background with so many struggles and now being recognized at this level is an amazing feeling,” he said. “It makes me grateful for the encouragement I’ve received from colleagues and the opportunities UTA has provided.”

This fall, Sedai is serving as a visiting scholar at Stanford University, continuing his research on the intersection of economics, family well-being and policy.

About The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)

Celebrating its 130^th anniversary in 2025, The University of Texas at Arlington is a growing public research university in the heart of the thriving Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. With a student body of over 42,700, UTA is the second-largest institution in the University of Texas System, offering more than 180 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Recognized as a Carnegie R-1 university, UTA stands among the nation’s top 5% of institutions for research activity. UTA and its 280,000 alumni generate an annual economic impact of $28.8 billion for the state. The University has received the Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities and has earned recognition for its focus on student access and success, considered key drivers to economic growth and social progress for North Texas and beyond.