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Cited by 509Mental Health Treatment and AccessSchizophrenia research and treatmentChild Abuse and Trauma

Mental disorders and subsequent educational attainment in a US national sample

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Breslau, Joshua, Lane, Michael, Sampson, Nancy, Kessler, Ronald C.·2008·Journal of Psychiatric Research
DOI 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2008.01.016PMC PMC2748981
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Abstract

As part of a larger investigation of the adverse effects of mental disorders on role functioning, we examined the associations of early-onset mental disorders with subsequent educational attainment in a large nationally representative survey of the US adult population. Diagnoses and age of onset for each of 17 DSM-IV disorders were assessed through retrospective self-report with the fully structured WHO Composite International Diagnostic Instrument (CIDI). Survival analysis was used to examine the associations between early-onset DSM-IV/CIDI disorders and subsequent termination of schooling with controls for socio-demographic characteristics and childhood adversities (i.e. childhood traumatic events, childhood neglect, parental mental illness, family disruption, and low parental educational attainment). Mental disorders were found to be significantly associated with termination of schooling prior to completion of each of four educational milestones (primary school graduation, high school graduation, college entry, college graduation), with odds ratios in the range of 1.3-7.0. The proportion of school terminations attributable to mental disorders was largest for high school graduation (10.2%) but also meaningful for primary school graduation (3.8%), college entry (4.4%) and college graduation (2.6%). These results add to a growing body of evidence documenting a wide variety of adverse life course effects of mental disorders.

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  • Early-onset major depressive disorder predicts later difficulties in role transitions, such as lower educational attainment, higher risk of teen childbearing, marital disruption, and unstable employment.

    “Early-onset MDD is found to predict difficulties in subsequent role transitions, including low educational attainment, high risk of teen child-bearing, marital disruption, and unstable employment.”

    From The Costs of Depression (2012) · cites this paper as [19]

  • Early-onset mental disorders are associated with ending education, with disruptive behavior disorders and bipolar disorder showing the strongest associations, and major depressive disorder associated with roughly 60% higher odds of failing to complete secondary school in high-income countries.

    “Several studies show early-onset mental disorders associated termination of education.19–26 While disruptive behavior disorders and bipolar disorder tend to have the strongest associations in these studies, MDD also is significantly associated with a roughly 60% elevated odds of failure to complete secondary school than otherwise comparable youth in high income countries.”

    From The Costs of Depression (2012) · cites this paper as [19]

  • Results of prior studies on associations of child and adolescent mental disorders with subsequent educational attainment have been inconsistent.

    “Results have been inconsistent, with the majority of studies, but not all [9], finding significant gross associations of childhood and adolescent mental disorders with low levels of educational attainment and some finding that significant gross associations are explained by childhood adversities that preceded onset of the disorders [11,22].”

    From Long-term effects of mental disorders on educational attainment in the National Comorbidity Survey ten-year follow-up (2015) · cites this paper as [12]

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. APA. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1994. [Google Scholar]
  2. First M, Spitzer R, Gibbon M, Williams J. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis I Disorders, Research Version, Non-patient Edition (SCID-I/NP) New York: Biometric Research, New York State Psychiatric Institute; 2002. [Google Scholar]
  3. RTI. Software for Survey Data Analysis (SUDAAN), Version 8.1. Research Triangle Park, NC: Research Triangle Institute; 2002. [Google Scholar]
  4. WHO. International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 1991. [Google Scholar]

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Authors
Breslau, J., Lane, M., Sampson, N., & Kessler, R. C.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Davis (US)
  • Harvard University (US)
Corresponding author
Breslau, Joshua
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Psychiatric Research
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2008-07
Volume
42
Issue
9
Pages
708-716
ISSN
0022-3956 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.jpsychires.2008.01.016
PMC
PMC2748981
OpenAlex
W2020028691
Cited by
509
References
31
Citations by year
2026: 20 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 41 · 2021: 39 · 2020: 45 · 2019: 34 · 2018: 36 · 2017: 42 · 2016: 36 · 2015: 25 · 2014: 24 · 2013: 28 · 2012: 23
FWCI
20.51
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Psychiatric Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (K01-MH66057, U01-MH60220)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
Keywords
mental illness, educational attainment, early-onset mental disorders, childhood adversity, childhood trauma, child neglect, parental mental illness, family breakdown, college graduation, high school graduation, DSM-IV disorders, Composite International Diagnostic Interview
MeSH terms
Achievement, Adolescent, Adult, Mental Disorders, Educational Status, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Surveys and Questionnaires, Schools, United States, Universities, Prevalence, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

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