Publication type
Journal Article
Authors
Publication date
July 25, 2021
Summary:
Objective: This study examines whether there is an independent association between mental difficulties in adolescence and educational attainment at age 16.
Design: Longitudinal study.
Setting: Nationally representative data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) were linked to the National Pupil Database for England.
Participants: Respondents (N=1100) to the UKHLS between 2009 and 2012 were linked to the National Pupil Database to investigate longitudinal associations between mental difficulties at ages 11–14 and educational attainment at age 16 (General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)).
Primary outcome measure: Not gaining five or more GCSE qualifications at age 16, including English and maths at grade A*–C.
Results: An atypical total mental health difficulty score measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire at ages 11–14 predicted low levels of educational attainment at age 16 (OR: 3.11 (95% CI: (2.11 to 4.57)). Controlling for prior attainment and family sociodemographic factors, happiness with school (/work) and parental health, school engagement and relationship with the child partially attenuated the association, which was significant in the fully adjusted model (2.05, 95% CI (1.15 to 3.68)). The association was maintained in the fully adjusted model for males only (OR: 2.77 (95% CI (1.24 to 6.16)) but not for females. Hyperactivity disorder strongly predicted lower attainment for males (OR: 2.17 (95% CI: (1.11 to 4.23)) and females (OR: 2.85 (95% CI (1.30 to 6.23)).
Conclusion: Mental difficulties at ages 11–14 were independently linked to educational success at age 16, highlighting an important pathway through which health in adolescence can determine young people’s life chances.
Published in
BMJ Open
Volume
Volume: 11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-046792
ISSN
20446055
Subjects
Notes
Open Access
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Covered by over 30 media outlets
Related Publications
-
Children with poor mental health three times as likely not to pass five GCSEs
Neil R. Smith, Lydia Marshall, Muslihah Albakri, Melanie Smuk, Ann Hagell, Stephen Stansfeld,Media - 20210726
-
Pupils with poor mental health ‘three times more likely not to pass five GCSEs’
Neil R. Smith, Lydia Marshall, Muslihah Albakri, Melanie Smuk, Ann Hagell, Stephen Stansfeld,Media - 20210726
-
Pupils with poor mental health ‘three times more likely not to pass five GCSEs’
Neil R. Smith, Lydia Marshall, Muslihah Albakri, Melanie Smuk, Ann Hagell, Stephen Stansfeld,Media - 20210726
-
Poor mental health leaves pupils three times less likely to pass five GCSEs
Neil R. Smith, Lydia Marshall, Muslihah Albakri, Melanie Smuk, Ann Hagell, Stephen Stansfeld,Media - 20210726
#536901