Mental well-being in adolescence may be crucial for education and employment later in life

The study was conducted by researchers at the National Institute of Public Health and has just been published in the scientific journal The Lancet Regional Health.

It is based, among other things, on questionnaire responses from almost 68,000 young people aged 15–19, collected in 2014 at upper-secondary schools and vocational institutions across Denmark. The participants were asked about their mental health and well-being, and based on their responses, researchers identified four overall groups: good, moderate, poor, and very poor mental well-being.

The researchers followed the young people over the next eight years, until they were in their mid-20s, linking their survey responses with nationwide registers on education and employment.

The results paint a clear picture: Young people with good mental well-being have the lowest risk of dropping out of upper-secondary education and generally fare best in the years that follow. Conversely, the risk increases markedly as mental well-being declines.

This is explained by Sara Rudbæk Larsen, research assistant and one of the authors of the study:

“We can see that poor mental well-being at ages 15–19 has a strong impact on how people fare much later in life. For example, young people with very poor well-being have nearly three times the risk of not completing an upper-secondary education within five years compared with those who are doing well,” she says.

Young people with moderate well-being were also at higher risk than those with good well-being. The findings thus point to a clear stepwise pattern: for each decline in well-being, the risk of dropping out increases.

“We also find that young people with poor well-being more often feel disconnected from their school. This is a factor that is known to increase the risk of dropping out,” says Sara Rudbæk Larsen.

For example, 21 percent of young people with poor well-being reported that they did not feel they belonged to their school, compared with just 2 percent among those with good well-being.

Outside education and employment

The consequences extend beyond upper-secondary education.

The researchers also examined how many of the young people ended up in so-called NEET status (Not in Employment, Education or Training) – meaning they are not in a job, education, or any form of training.

Here, the results show that young people with good well-being have the lowest risk and perform best in the longer term as well. Conversely, those with poor mental well-being in adolescence have an increased risk of being outside both education and the labour market five and ten years later. For example, young people with poor well-being had around four times higher risk of being outside employment and education after ten years.

According to Professor Janne Tolstrup, who is also behind the study, it is precisely these long-term differences that stand out:

“It is surprising to see such large differences over a long period of time, and that young people’s mental well-being during upper-secondary education follows them so far into adulthood,” she says.

Poor well-being is not temporary

According to Janne Tolstrup, the study shows that poor mental well-being in adolescence is not just a temporary condition, but an important factor in how life unfolds and in young people’s opportunities for education and employment.

“Our study clearly shows that well-being, as reported by the young people themselves in a questionnaire, reflects something real about how they are actually doing, and that poor well-being is not a temporary problem,” she says.

The findings can therefore be used to identify young people at high risk of not completing an upper-secondary education.

“We know from a large body of research that dropping out of upper-secondary education in itself increases the risk of later being outside both education and employment. That is why it is important to support these students so that they complete their education,” she says.

Contact: Research assistant Sara Rudbæk Larsen, sara.rudbaek.larsen@regionh.dk, and Professor Janne Tolstrup, jest@sdu.dk, tel.: +45 6550 7735, National Institute of Public Health, SDU.