The downward spiral of mental disorders and educational attainment: a systematic review on early school leaving

Abstract

Background: Most psychiatric disorders present symptom patterns that cause severe impairment on the emotional, cognitive and social level. Thus, adolescents who suffer from a mental disorder risk finding themselves in a downward spiral caused by the reciprocal association of psychological symptoms and negative school experiences that may culminate in early school leaving. In addition to previous collective work that mainly focused on school refusing behaviour among children and was presented as an expert's opinion, the following systematic review fills the knowledge gap by providing a structured overview of the bidirectional association between mental health and secondary school dropout based on a sound methodology and with a particular focus on mediating factors. Methods: Four electronic databases were searched from January 1990 until June 2014. Selected references were assessed for study details, main results, mediating factors and methodological limitations. Standardized risk of bias assessment was conducted. Results: Mood and anxiety disorders seemed to have a less consequential direct effect on early school leaving than substance use and disruptive behaviour disorders. The association between externalizing disorders and educational attainment was even stronger when the disorder occurred early in life. On the other hand, internalizing disorders were reported to develop as a consequence of school dropout. Only few studies had addressed gender differences, with discrepant results. Socio-economic background, academic achievement and family support were identified as significant mediating factors of the association between mental disorders and subsequent educational attainment. Conclusions: Findings suggested a strong association between mental health and education, in both directions. However, most studies focused on mediating factors that could not be targeted by intervention programs.

Pattern of psychiatric disorders among young persons attending psychiatric clinics in Benin city: implications for health

“…Thus, young persons suffering from a mental disorder risk finding themselves in a downward spiral caused by the reciprocal association of psychological symptoms and negative school experiences that may culminate in early school leaving. 32 Close to a fifth of the respondents who had psychiatric disorders had a positive family history. This agrees with a finding from a study carried out in Ilorin where family history was present among about a fifth of the respondents.…”

Expectativas laborales en la adolescencia: Correlatos psicosociales

“…Es te resultado podría sugerir que la falta de salud psicológica afecta negativamente las esperanzas de los adolescentes de lograr seguridad económica y con ello un ajuste social ade cuado, en concordancia con los resultados previos que indican la importancia de los sín-tomas patológicos en los resultados académi-cos (Esch et al, 2014;Sagatun, Heyerdahl, Wentzel-Larsen & Lien, 2014;Veldman et al, 2014). Sin embargo, dado el tamaño de la muestra, el efecto de los síntomas externalizantes debe ser considerado más bien como una tendencia, sujeto a comprobación posterior.…”

“…Por una parte, la exposición a la adversidad temprana tiene un efecto perdurable en el desarrollo, debido a que puede alterar la capacidad de los niños para responder normalmente a situaciones adversas posteriores en la vida (Karatsoreos & McEwen, 2013), manifestándose en posteriores dificultades de aprendizaje, conducta y bienestar físico y mental de los jóvenes (Shonkoff et al, 2012). Por otra parte, la presencia de síntomas psicopatológicos, tanto emocionales como de comportamiento, obstaculiza el desempeño y logro escolar de los estudiantes (Ansary, McMahon & Luthar, 2011;Esch et al, 2014) y con ello sus posibilidades laborales futuras. En especial, la exposición a la adversidad en las etapas tempranas de la niñez está fuertemente asociada a la presencia de síntomas psicopatológicos y a un mayor impacto disruptivo en su desempeño educativo posterior (Tan, 2009), lo que afecta el logro académico de los jóvenes y con ello sus expectativas laborales.…”

Mental health in adolescence and subsequent receipt of medical benefits in young adulthood: The mediating role of upper secondary school completion

“…One could expect that internalizing symptoms would have been of greater importance because anxiety and mood disorders are the most prevalent psychiatric diagnoses resulting in the receipt of medical and vocational rehabilitation benefits in this age group [30]. However, internalizing disorders have been reported to develop as a consequence of school drop-out [8]. Thus, it is possible that individuals who drop out from school (mainly because of externalizing problems) develop internalizing symptoms.…”

“…School drop-out is prevalent [3], and is a risk factor for welfare dependency [4]. Mental health problems are a major contributor to health related disability in children and youth [5,6], and mental health problems in adolescence are risk factors for school drop-out [3,[7][8][9][10]. Most mental disorders in adults begin during youth, although they are often first detected later in life [11].…”