Mental-health and educational achievement: the link between poor mental-health and upper secondary school completion and grades

Abstract

Poor mental-health during childhood correlated negatively with educational attainment. Given the strong link between educational success and adult life, more resources are needed to support children with mental-health problems.

Educational achievement and poor mental health in Sweden: the role of family socioeconomic resources

“…In line with previous research (Becchetti et al, 2018;Brännlund et al, 2017;Cutler & Lleras-Muney, 2006), we also detected a strong effect of poor mental health on school performance, for both girls and boys. Further analysis of potentially mitigating effects of high family socioeconomic resources showed the following.…”

“…In this article, we elaborate on two robust findings of previous studies which, despite the egalitarian goals of education policy, have established that educational achievement is positively affected by the socioeconomic resources of students' families (Breen & Jonsson, 2005;Breen, Luijkx, Müller, & Pollak, 2010;Erikson, Goldthorpe, Jackson, Yaish, & Cox, 2005;Sirniö, Martikainen, & Kauppinen, 2016) and negatively affected by poor mental health during childhood and adolescence (Becchetti, Conzo, & Pisani, 2018;Brännlund, Strandh, & Nilsson, 2017;Cutler & Lleras-Muney, 2008). The latter is a growing concern because during the last decade there has been a steady increase in the share of young people suffering from poor mental health, measured in terms of either prescription of drugs or self-ratings by respondents (Almroth, László, Kosidou, & Galanti, 2018;Baroudi et al, 2019;Stenmark, Bergström, Hägglöf, Öhman, & Petersen, 2016).…”

Educational engagement, expectation and attainment of children with disabilities: Evidence from the Scottish Longitudinal Study

“…Despite this, the question of whether children with disabilities are more likely to disengage with the education system and become early leavers has received little attention in the research literature. Newer studies have emerged, however, and these appear to clearly demonstrate increased risk of early leaving for children with mental health conditions such as anxiety or depression (Br€ annlund et al, 2017;Butterworth & Leach, 2018;Hetlevik et al, 2018) and for those with hyperactivity, behavioural problems and/or ADHD (Fleming et al, 2017;Hetlevik et al, 2018). Newer studies have emerged, however, and these appear to clearly demonstrate increased risk of early leaving for children with mental health conditions such as anxiety or depression (Br€ annlund et al, 2017;Butterworth & Leach, 2018;Hetlevik et al, 2018) and for those with hyperactivity, behavioural problems and/or ADHD (Fleming et al, 2017;Hetlevik et al, 2018).…”

“…Recent reviews note a scarcity of research on the topic, with few longitudinal studies found, and those studies which do exist having serious methodological flaws such as a lack of control for background factors (Melkevik et al, 2016;Bowman et al, 2017). Newer studies have emerged, however, and these appear to clearly demonstrate increased risk of early leaving for children with mental health conditions such as anxiety or depression (Br€ annlund et al, 2017;Butterworth & Leach, 2018;Hetlevik et al, 2018) and for those with hyperactivity, behavioural problems and/or ADHD (Fleming et al, 2017;Hetlevik et al, 2018).…”

Mental Health, Cognition and Academic Performance in the 1st Year of Elementary Education

“…The association between mental health problems and school difficulties has been investigated, given the worse prognosis associated with the co-occurrence of these conditions (Brännlund, Strandh & Nilsson, 2017;D'Abreu & Marturano, 2010;Darney, Reinke, Herman, Stormont, & Ialongo, 2013;Marturano, Toller, & Elias, 2005). According to Saur and Loureiro (2012), mental health problems in childhood, as well as in adolescence, usually manifest as behavioral, emotional and social problems, also affecting the individual's academic performance.…”