Plenty Stephanie, Magnusson Charlotta, Låftman Sara Brolin
Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University, 106 91, Sweden.
Institute for Futures Studies, Box 591, Stockholm, 101 31, Sweden.
SSM Popul Health. 2021 Jul 12;15:100873. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100873. eCollection 2021 Sep.
Mental health problems are associated with a greater risk of being Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) during young adulthood. Yet evidence on the extent to which self-reported mental health problems precede males' and females' NEET status and on the potential pathways linking mental health problems to NEET is lacking. This study examines the longitudinal associations that internalising and externalising problems during adolescence share with the risk of being NEET in young adulthood, with a focus on the mediating role of school performance. Data comes from a representative sample of 4,452 Swedish youth (51% females) who provided information on internalising and externalising problems at age 14-15 years. Information on secondary school grades (age 15-16 years), completion of upper secondary school (age 20-21 years) and NEET status at 21-22 years were drawn from administrative registers. Overall, 6% of participants were NEET at 21-22 years of age and rates were higher for those who had internalising and externalising problems at age 14-15 years. A series of gender-stratified multivariate regression models showed that for both genders, greater internalising and externalising problems predicted lower school grades and a reduced likelihood of upper secondary school completion. However, externalising problems were associated with an increased risk of being NEET for males, while internalising problems were associated with a higher likelihood of being NEET for females. The effects of externalising and internalising problems for males and females, respectively, were partially mediated by school performance. The findings indicate that mental health problems in adolescence are associated with exclusion from the labour market and education in early adulthood, but that internalising and externalising problems represent different risks for males and females. Furthermore, school performance in comprehensive and upper secondary school helps explain links between mental health problems and subsequent NEET status.
心理健康问题与青年时期处于非就业、非教育、非培训状态（NEET）的风险增加有关。然而，关于自我报告的心理健康问题在多大程度上先于男性和女性的NEET状态，以及将心理健康问题与NEET联系起来的潜在途径，目前尚缺乏相关证据。本研究考察了青少年时期内化问题和外化问题与青年时期成为NEET的风险之间的纵向关联，重点关注学业成绩的中介作用。数据来自4452名瑞典青年的代表性样本（51%为女性），他们提供了14 - 15岁时内化问题和外化问题的信息。中学成绩（15 - 16岁）、高中完成情况（20 - 21岁）以及21 - 22岁时的NEET状态信息均取自行政登记册。总体而言，6%的参与者在21 - 22岁时处于NEET状态，14 - 15岁时有内化和外化问题的参与者比例更高。一系列按性别分层的多元回归模型显示，对于男性和女性来说，更多的内化和外化问题都预示着较低的学业成绩以及完成高中教育的可能性降低。然而，外化问题与男性成为NEET的风险增加有关，而内化问题与女性成为NEET的可能性更高有关。外化问题和内化问题对男性和女性的影响分别部分地由学业成绩介导。研究结果表明，青少年时期的心理健康问题与成年早期被劳动力市场和教育排斥有关，但内化问题和外化问题对男性和女性代表着不同的风险。此外，综合中学和高中的学业成绩有助于解释心理健康问题与随后的NEET状态之间的联系。
