Abstract
Poor school-related well-being may influence adolescents’ school performance and lifestyle. Adolescents having disabilities or ADHD are in a vulnerable situation for having poor school-related well-being, compared to adolescents not having disabilities. We used cross-sectional data from a school-based survey among 15–18-year-olds (N = 4071) in Sörmland, Sweden, to analyse the association between poor school-related well-being and disabilities or ADHD. The analyses were carried out by logistic regression models, adjusting for background factors, school-related factors, and health-compromising behaviours. Adolescents having disabilities (n = 827) or ADHD (n = 146) reported that their disability had a negative influence on school. Compared to peers without disability, those having disabilities had an increased chance (OR = 1.40 95% CI: 1.17–1.68) of poor school-related well-being. The corresponding OR was doubled for adolescents reporting ADHD (2.23 95% CI: 1.56–3.18). For the ADHD group, the adjOR for poor school-related well-being remained significant (1.67 95% CI: 1.13–2.50) after adjustments for school-related factors and health-compromising behaviours, but not for the disability group. In conclusion, adolescents having ADHD are a particularly vulnerable group at school, having a greater risk of poor school-related well-being. Schools should actively work to achieve school satisfaction for adolescents having disabilities, to ensure that all students have similar opportunities for favourable development, health and achievement of their academic goals.
Highlights
School-related well-being is an important indicator of children’s and adolescents’overall health
For the attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) group, the adjOR for poor school-related wellbeing remained significant (1.67 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.13–2.50) after adjustments for school-related factors and health-compromising behaviours, but not for the disability group
Excluded students had the same proportion of non-Swedish background (25%) as those included, while 55 per cent stated that they were of Swedish origin; 20 per cent lacked data
Summary
School-related well-being is an important indicator of children’s and adolescents’overall health. Education is seen as a means to achieving good health [4] and a tool for reducing inequalities [1]. These goals are in line with the Swedish public health politics, stating a requirement for good and equal health for all [4]. In order to measure passing all subjects, the question “Do you have a failing grade or do you lack grades in any subject?” was used and categorised into “yes” (“yes, in 1–2 subjects”, “yes, in 3–4 subjects” or “yes in 5 subjects or more”) or “no”.
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