Work functioning among young adults: the role of mental health problems from childhood to young adulthood

Abstract

ObjectivesMental health problems (MHPs) during childhood and adolescence are negatively associated with having a paid job in young adulthood. Yet, little is known about how young adults function at work, that is, do they experience difficulties in meeting their job demands given their health state. This longitudinal study aims to examine the impact of MHPs from childhood to young adulthood on young adults’ work functioning (WF).MethodsData were used from 1004 participants in the TRacking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey, a Dutch prospective cohort study with 18-year follow-up. MHP trajectories, including 11, 13.5, 16, 19, 22 and 26 age points, were identified using growth mixture models. WF was assessed at age 29 with the Work Role Functioning Questionnaire 2.0 (WRFQ). Regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between MHP trajectories and WF.ResultsYoung adults with high-stable trajectories of internalising and externalising problems reported lower WF (mean WRFQ scores of 70.5 and 70.7, respectively) than those with low-stable trajectories (78.4 and 77.2), that is, they experience difficulties in meeting the work demands for more than one work day per full-time work week. Young adults with moderate-stable or decreasing MHP trajectories reported lower WF scores compared with those with low-stable trajectories.ConclusionsBoth persistent high and elevated levels of MHPs from childhood to young adulthood are associated with lower WF scores in young adulthood compared with low-level MHPs. Occupational healthcare professionals should support young workers with a history of MHPs to optimise their work functioning.

Does adolescent depression modify the association between psychosocial job stressors and mental health in emergent adulthood?

“…With respect to our effect modification results, there are relatively few studies for direct comparison to ours. A Dutch cohort assessed the association between trajectories of mental health problems and work functioning among young workers, finding that those with persistent high levels of mental health problems had lower work functioning scores, and, in particular, had difficulties in meeting their work demands 18 . Though answering a different research question, this study's finding is consistent with our finding that a history of adolescent depression modifies the association of job demands and distress.…”

“…The limitations of this study are offset by various strengths, including the population‐representative sample, the high retention of study participants over three‐time points and a 12‐year time span, and the focus on adolescence and emergent adulthood as a critical period in the natural history of mental illness and socialization 1 . Further, this study contributes to an emerging literature examining the impacts of adolescent mental health problems on the experience of work in adulthood 17,18,47 …”

“…There is an acknowledged dearth of studies on the impact of mental health problems in adolescence on the experience of work in adulthood 17 . A recent study showed that a history of childhood or adolescent mental health problems impacted the work functioning workers of young adult workers, in particular experiencing difficulties in meeting their work demands 18 . Other research suggests that people with a history of mental health problems tend to be employed in poor psychosocial quality jobs (e.g., low job control, high job insecurity, higher prevalence of bullying) compared with those without such a history 19 .…”

Supporting workers with mental health problems at work: challenges and avenues

“…This knowledge on phase-specific work strategies may be used to better inform and tailor supportive interventions and work accommodation to help workers to maintain working. De Groot et al (16) recently provided first insights about how young adults with a history of mental health problems function at work. It was shown that young adults with both persistent high and elevated levels of mental health problems during childhood and adolescence, compared with those with low-level mental health problems, experience difficulties in meeting their work demands for more than one day a week given a full-time work week at age 29.…”

“…As most research so far measured common mental health problems during working adults' life, and not across the life course, knowledge on the impact of early life mental health experiences on at-work participation in later life is almost absent. Again, the findings of de Groot et al (16) highlight the importance of adopting a life course perspective by considering the concept of 'accumulation of health risk or health advantages' when connecting early life mental health experiences with work functioning. A life course perspective may also help advance future studies on the dynamics between different life domains (7), eg, the interplay between work and private life, as it recognizes an individual's life course as a multi-level developmental process shaped by the social context.…”