Psychiatric Disorders in Adolescence Linked to Absence From School and Jobs
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Adolescents’ diagnosis with psychiatric disorders, especially psychosis and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is associated with long term absence from education, employment, or training (“Not in Education, Employment or Training” = NEET), according to study results published in The British Journal of Psychiatry.
Researchers analyzed socioeconomic data and medical history from a Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare longitudinal study of children born in Finland in 1987. Individuals (n=55,273) included in the study lived in the country throughout the study period (2008 to 2015) and did not have diagnosed intellectual disabilities.
The investigators discovered that 1438 individuals (2.6%) had been outside of employment, education, training, parental leave, and jobseekers’ programs for at least 5 years. Of those individuals, 65.1% were male and 65% had not completed upper secondary school.
A total of 44% of the cohort with long term NEET in young adulthood had been diagnosed with a psychiatric or neurodevelopmental disorder as an adolescent. Depressive disorders (20.1%) and anxiety disorders (16.6%) were most common. Proportionately, individuals with ASD (44%) and psychosis (36.5%) were most likely to experience long term NEET.
The researchers found that 70.6% of individuals with ASD and 48.4% of individuals with psychosis experienced long term NEET when they had not completed upper secondary school.
Associations held for Asperger syndrome (OR 29.4) and other ASD (OR 21.3) when they were analyzed individually. When researchers excluded individuals with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, the association held for other kinds of psychosis (OR 14.5). Associations remained for other diagnostic categories when the researchers removed individuals diagnosed with substance use disorder, psychosis or ASD.
Patients who received inpatient treatment when they were under 10 years of age had 7.3 times higher odds of experiencing long term NEET. Those who received inpatient treatment between 10 and 20 years of age had 11.5 times higher odds of experiencing long term NEET.
Disclosure: A study author declared affiliations with biotech, pharmaceutical, and/or device companies. Please see the original reference for a full list of authors’ disclosures
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“Self Acceptance is a process not a performance”
“You are autistic enough. And you always have been”
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity.
25 Dec 2021, 9:27 pm
