Educational Attainment In Young Adulthood Research Articles

Educational attainment and symptoms of anxiety and depression in young adulthood

Abstract Background Young adulthood is a life phase when mental health problems are common. Although education is known to exert an influence on health, increased knowledge about the links between educational attainment and mental health problems in young adults is needed. The aim of this study was to analyse if educational attainment at the end of upper secondary (U.S.) school (i.e. age 19) predicted self-reported anxiety and depression symptoms two years later. Methods Data was derived from the Swedish population-based cohort study Futura01 (n = 3247; 56% women). Anxiety and depression were measured by self-reports in 2022 (age 21) through the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4). Educational attainment was measured through linked registry information from 2020 (age 19). Linear regression analysis was used. Covariates included parental country of birth, parental education and family type. Results Co-occurring symptoms of anxiety and depression were more common among young adults with a compulsory than a U.S. academic degree (women: b = 0.79, 95% CI 0.49, 1.09; men: b = 0.77, 95% CI 0.37, 1.17). Symptoms of depression only were more common among women with a compulsory degree (b = 0.60, 95% CI 0.20, 1.00), and among participants with a U.S. vocational degree (women: b = 0.51, 95% CI 0.09, 0.94; men: b = 0.50, 95% CI 0.08, 0.91), compared to those with a U.S. academic degree. Symptoms of anxiety only were, in contrast, less common among men and women with a compulsory degree compared to those with a U.S. academic degree, although statistically significant only among women (b=-0.50, 95% CI -0.88, -0.12). Conclusions Educational level in young adulthood was clearly associated with subsequent symptoms of anxiety and depression but the social patterning varied between symptoms. Lower educational level was linked to a higher reporting of co-occurring anxiety and depression and of depression only, while a higher educational level was linked to a higher reporting of anxiety only. Key messages • Young adult educational attainment was negatively associated with symptoms of co-occurring anxiety and depression and of depression only, but positively associated with symptoms of anxiety only. • In young adulthood educational level is associated with anxiety and depression in complex ways. Efforts to improve educational attainment and/or mental health need to consider this complexity.

Interpersonal Victimization During Childhood and Adolescence and Educational Attainment in Young Adulthood: A Latent Class Analysis Approach.

Previous research relates violent victimization early in life to a wide range of unfavorable outcomes in adulthood, among them a lack of educational attainment. A tendency to conduct separate investigations into violent victimization in different areas of life has so far hampered our understanding of both overall victimization processes and its outcomes. The present study overcomes this issue by investigating the cumulative burden of violent victimization during childhood and adolescence as well as the associations between victimization and educational attainment in young adulthood. The study uses a nationally representative sample of 18 to 19-year-old Norwegian students (n = 3,160) from the school-based UngVold 2007 survey, merged with information from official registers up to 2016 (age 27-28). Using latent class analysis (LCA), we combine retrospective accounts of experiences with parental, peer, and sexual violence during childhood and adolescence with educational attainment in young adulthood. The analyses reveal five classes of violent victimization: (1) non-victims (55.7%), (2) peer victims (16.6%), (3) victims of parental violence (14.5%), (4) victims witnessing domestic violence (5.6%), and (5) polyvictims (experiencing parental, peer, and/or sexual violence: 7.6%). They also show lower educational attainment in all groups reporting victimization through physical contact compared to non-victims, particularly among peer victims and polyvictims. Violence thus seems to impair educational attainment for a large share of the population. The identification of particularly lower education among the polyvictims also show the importance of considering the cumulative burden of violence when deciding on treatment needs and the design of help services for victims.

Educational attainment in young adulthood and self-rated health in midlife – Does allostatic load mediate the association?

This study aimed to examine the extent to which allostatic load (AL), measured in midlife, mediates the association between educational attainment in young adulthood and self-rated health (SRH) in midlife among women and men. The study used data from the Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank (CAMB; n = 5467 participants, aged 48–62 years, 31.5% women). Educational attainment was assessed as years of education. SRH was assessed with one item: ‘In general, how would you say your health is?’ with response options from “excellent” to “poor”. AL mediated 31.7% and 19.7% of the association between educational attainment and SRH in women and men, respectively. We observed that higher educational attainment was associated with better SRH and lower AL in both women and men. Our study showed that AL partly mediates the association between educational attainment in young adulthood and SRH in adulthood among both men and women. This study indicates that educational attainment in young adulthood affects health throughout life. Such knowledge of a potential mediator may be important in breaking the social heritage.

How do educational disparities in smoking develop during early life? A Swedish longitudinal study

Smoking contributes to health inequalities, but how social inequalities in smoking develop in early life remains unclear. This study examines how measures of education attained over the early life course (representing socioeconomic position of origin, socioeconomic position of destination, and in-between) contribute to smoking behavior in a Swedish longitudinal sample. We used data obtained from the Swedish Level-of-Living Surveys in addition to national register data. Young adults (aged 20–28, n = 749) self-reported their educational attainment and smoking behavior (initiation and cessation) in 2010. Ten years earlier, their parents self-reported their own education and smoking behavior. We used linked register data on school performance in adolescence (in grade 9). Logistic regression models showed that lower parental education, lower adolescent school performance, and low young adult educational attainment were respectively associated with young adult smoking initiation. The association between parental education and young adult smoking initiation was explained by adolescent school performance and not parental smoking. Young adult smoking cessation was associated with high parental education and high adolescent school performance (marks in the top quartile), but only school performance remained significant in the final model, which included all measures of education and parental smoking. Results suggest that school performance in adolescence (which connects adolescents’ socioeconomic position of origin with their destination) may play an important role in how educational disparities in smoking form over the life course.

Iron deficiency in infancy and neurocognitive and educational outcomes in young adulthood.

This study examines the extent to which iron deficiency in infancy contributes to adverse neurocognitive and educational outcomes in young adulthood directly and indirectly, through its influence on verbal cognition and attention problems in childhood. Young adults (N = 1,000, M age = 21.3 years, 52% female; of Spanish or indigenous descent) from working-class families in Santiago, Chile, completed instruments assessing memory, processing speed, mental flexibility, and educational attainment. Iron status was assessed at ages 6, 12, and 18 months, and verbal intelligence, inattention, and sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) symptoms were assessed at age 10. Results indicated that young adults who had iron-deficiency in infancy had poor executive control at age 21. Severity of iron deficiency during infancy was associated with lower verbal IQ and more frequent inattention and SCT symptoms in childhood, and with lower educational attainment in young adulthood through its effect on inattention. No additional indirect effects were found. Interventions directed toward improving cognitive and attention deficits linked to early-life iron deficiency appear warranted and could alter the course to adult functioning. Further research on the impact of such interventions would be helpful. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Adolescent Family Experiences Predict Young Adult Educational Attainment: A Data-Based Cross-Study Synthesis With Machine Learning

Grounded in theory and research on the role of adolescent family experiences in young adult educational attainment, this study took the novel step of synthesizing results from prior studies and using a machine learning (ML) approach to address three questions: (1) By incorporating adolescent family experience factors examined across prior studies in a single analysis, how accurately can we predict young adult educational attainment? (2) Which family experience factors are the best predictors of young adult educational attainment? (3) What complex patterns among family experience predictors merit further examination? Based on a review of 101 publications that used National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health data to investigate links between adolescent family experiences and young adult attainment, we identified 53 family experience independent variables. We used an ML-based approach to train and test models with these 53 Wave I family variables (adolescent in Grade 7–12) as predictors of both college enrollment (N = 4598) and graduation (N = 4180) at Wave IV (young adult mean age = 28.88, SD = 1.76). Our models (1) obtained prediction accuracies of 73.43% and 72.33% for college enrollment, and 79.10% and 79.07% for college graduation, (2) identified the best predictors of college enrollment and graduation, including family socioeconomic characteristics and parent educational expectations, and (3) highlight nonlinear patterns for further examination. This study advanced understanding of how adolescent family experiences may influence educational attainment and provided a paradigm for developmental research to synthesize existing findings into novel discoveries with large-scale datasets.

Family Relationships During Adolescence and Stepchilden's Educational Attainment in Young Adulthood

AbstractObjectiveThis study examines how the quality of family relationships in stepfamilies during adolescence are associated with stepchildren's 4‐year college attendance in young adulthood.BackgroundOn average, college attendance is lower for youth in stepfamilies when compared with those living with two biological parents, but many children thrive and attain high levels of education despite the risks associated with stepfamily formation. The role of parents is central to understanding youths' educational attainment, but studies have not examined how adolescents' relationships with each of their parents in stepfamilies are related to college attendance.MethodThis study uses a sample of 881 respondents who were in stable stepfamilies from Wave 1 to Wave 3 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate both the direct and indirect pathways from family relationships at Wave 1 to young adults' college attendance at Wave 3.ResultsBoth higher quality stepfather–child relationships and nonresident father–child relationships were positively associated with young adults' college attendance. Mother–child relationship quality was not associated with college attendance.ConclusionMaintaining children's ties to nonresident fathers after parental separation and fostering close ties to stepfathers when mothers repartner may have long‐term positive consequences for youths' educational attainment. The findings also suggest an important need for future research to examine children's relationships with each of their parents to better understand youth outcomes in stepfamilies.

School-based health services and educational attainment: Findings from a national longitudinal study

This study examined whether availability and use of different types of school-based health services (SBHS) during adolescence were associated with educational attainment in adulthood. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) were analyzed in 2018 to assess relationships between different types of SBHS provided by schools and use of SBHS among adolescents in 1995, and educational attainment in young adulthood (2001−02) and later adulthood (2008). Multi-level linear regression models included SBHS such as providing immunizations, physical exams and emotional counseling at the school level, and receiving a school-based physical exam, emotional counseling or family planning counseling at the individual level, with other school and individual characteristics included as covariates. At the school level, providing immunizations in 1995 was associated with higher educational attainment in 2001–02 and 2008. Providing physical exams and physical fitness/recreation centers also were marginally associated with higher educational attainment in 2001–02 and 2008, respectively. At the individual level, receiving a physical exam at school in 1995 was associated with higher educational attainment in 2001–02, while receiving emotional counseling at school was inversely associated with educational attainment in 2008. None of the other types of SBHS at the school or individual level were associated with later educational attainment. This study suggests that preventive SBHS such as immunizations, physical exams and physical fitness/recreation centers may contribute to academic achievement and higher educational attainment during young and later adulthood.

Childhood Obesity and Academic Outcomes in Young Adulthood.

The present study used nationally representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (a.k.a., Add Health) to examine the impact of childhood obesity on young adult educational attainment. In addition to weight status, independent variables included race–ethnicity, immigrant generational status, family socio-economic status (SES), preference for overweight and obese friends in school, school socio-economic and race–ethnic composition, and other important predictors. Educational attainment was measured as a categorical variable with the categories reflecting key educational benchmarks: (1) being a high school graduate; (2) having some college education; and (3) having completed a bachelor’s or higher degree. The results indicate that in general, individuals who were obese as children are less likely to transition from high school to college, and even less likely to obtain a baccalaureate or more advanced degree. In line with the social network hypothesis of the obesity epidemic, we also found that having overweight and obese friends drives down the odds of educational success. Attendance at a higher SES school or a school with a lower percentage of minority students was positively associated with the odds of college attendance and obtaining a baccalaureate. Other important effects included race–ethnicity and immigrant generational status.

Racial Differences in Mechanisms Linking Childhood Socioeconomic Status With Growth in Adult Body Mass Index: The Role of Adolescent Risk and Educational Attainment

PurposeThe present study examined whether risk factors during adolescence, including substance use, depression, overweight status, and young adult educational attainment, mediated the association between low childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and higher body mass index (BMI) in adulthood. We also evaluated whether the hypothesized pathways differed based on racial group status. MethodsParticipants from the Seattle Social Development Project were followed from ages 10 to 39years. Thepresent study included white (n = 381), African American (n = 207), and Asian American (n = 171) participants. Structural equation models tested pathways linking low childhood SES to BMI from ages 24 to 39 years. Multiple-group modeling was used to test potential racial differences. ResultsAnalyses indicated racial differences in the pathways linking low childhood SES with adult BMI. For whites, overweight status and educational attainment were significant mediators. For Asian Americans, there was an unmediated and significant pathway between low childhood SES and low adult BMI. For African Americans, there were no significant mediated or unmediated pathways. ConclusionsResults stress that the pathways that link childhood SES with adult BMI may operate differently based on race. Research is particularly needed to identify mechanisms for African Americans in order to better inform obesity prevention efforts.

Educational Attainment in Young Adulthood, Depressive Symptoms, and Race-ethnicity: The Long-reach of Parenting Styles in Adolescence

Educational Attainment in Young Adulthood, Depressive Symptoms, and Race-ethnicity: The Long-reach of Parenting Styles in Adolescence

Will Moving to a Better Neighborhood Help? Teenage Residential Mobility, Change of Context, and Young-Adult Educational Attainment

Research suggests that growing up in more affluent neighborhoods improves educational attainment. But would it help adolescents to move to relatively more affluent neighborhoods, as theories of neighborhood effects anticipate? Does it depend on the magnitude of the change of context? To answer these questions, we use data from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey and the 1990 Census to estimate models using propensity score methods. We found that both upward mobility and change of context during adolescence had small effects on long-term educational attainment that varied by race, socioeconomic status, transfer status, and the social class of starting neighborhoods. Importantly, upward moves and positive changes in context reduced African-Americans’ chances of completing high school.

Socioeconomic differences in overweight and weight-related behaviors across adolescence and young adulthood: 10-year longitudinal findings from Project EAT

Reducing socioeconomic disparities in weight-related health is a public health priority. The purpose of this paper was to examine 10-year longitudinal patterns in overweight and weight-related behaviors from adolescence to young adulthood as a function of family-level socioeconomic status (SES) and educational attainment. Project EAT (Eating and Activity in Teens and Young Adults) followed a diverse sample of 2287 adolescents from 1999 to 2009. Mixed-effects regression tested longitudinal trends in overweight, fast food, breakfast skipping, physical inactivity, and screen use by family-level SES. The influence of subsequent educational attainment in young adulthood was examined. Results revealed that the prevalence of overweight increased significantly from adolescence to young adulthood with the greatest change seen in those from low SES (mean change=30.7%, 95% CI=25.6%–35.9%) as compared to high SES families (mean change=21.7%, 95% CI=18.2%–25.1%). Behavioral changes from adolescence to young adulthood also differed by SES background; the prevalence of frequent fast food intake (≥3times/week) increased most dramatically in those from low SES (mean change=6%, 95% CI=0.5%–11%) as compared to high SES families (mean change=−1.2%, 95% CI=−5.2%–2.9%). Overall trends suggest that a higher educational attainment mitigates the negative impacts of a low SES background. These findings suggest that continued effort is needed to ensure that public health strategies addressing obesity and related behaviors reach adolescents and young adults from low SES backgrounds and do not contribute to widening socioeconomic gaps in weight-related health.

Alignment of Educational and Occupational Expectations Influences on Young Adult Educational Attainment, Income, and Underemployment*

ObjectiveEducational and occupational ambitions are on the rise for adolescents in the United States and there is a national push for more postsecondary education. However, most young adults do not hold bachelor's degrees and many jobs do not require them. The objectives of this study were to focus on the need for aligned expectations and the longitudinal effect on educational attainment, personal income, and underemployment.MethodsThe methods used the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) to examine how aligned expectations in 12th grade predict educational attainment, income, and underemployment at age 26.ResultsResults suggest aligned expectations in adolescence are predictive of educational attainment. Contrary to authors’ hypotheses, aligned expectations do not influence personal income or underemployment. Gender analyses revealed differences in the importance of aligned expectations.ConclusionIn conclusion, the alignment process during high school will be important for future research focused on postsecondary educational goals.

Adolescent substance use and specificity of association with educational attainment in young adulthood

Adolescent substance use and specificity of association with educational attainment in young adulthood

Childhood Adversities and Educational Attainment in Young Adulthood: The Role of Mental Health Problems in Adolescence

PurposeThe aims of this study were to examine whether the association between childhood adversities and educational attainment in young adulthood can be explained by mental health problems in adolescence and whether associations and pathways differ for boys and girls. MethodsData were used of 2,230 participants from the Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey, a Dutch prospective cohort study with a 9-year follow-up. Childhood adversities were measured at age 11 years, mental health problems (i.e., externalizing, internalizing and attention problems with Youth Self-Report) at age 16 years, and educational attainment at age 19 years. Structural equation modeling was performed to analyze the data, overall and stratified by gender. ResultsOnly among boys, childhood adversities were associated with low educational attainment in young adulthood. Externalizing problems in adolescence explained 5% of the association between childhood adversities and educational attainment. Furthermore, for both boys and girls, externalizing problems in adolescence had a direct effect on educational attainment in young adulthood. ConclusionsAmong boys, childhood adversities are associated with poorer educational outcomes of young adults. A part of this association runs via adolescent externalizing problems. The results suggest that boys, compared with girls, are less capable to cope with childhood adversities. Monitoring of exposed boys to childhood adversities is of utmost importance.

Socioeconomic differences of educational attainment among young adults. The role of social relations

Background School dropout is associated with parental socioeconomic position but to what extent social relations in the family as well as to friends, teachers and classmates are related to educational attainment in young adulthood and if a social gradient is existing is not yet fully understood. Aim To elucidate the effect of social factors on the association between parental socioeconomic position and educational attainment of offspring’s in …

The Impact of Immigrant Classmates on Educational Outcomes

Despite a growing empirical literature on the relationship between immigrant concentration in schools and student achievement, few studies address longer-run outcomes. Using Norwegian registry data, this study addresses the causal impact of immigrant classmates on educational attainment in young adulthood, as well as academic track enrollment and educational achievement in school, within six entire student cohorts in their final tenth grade of compulsory education (310,742 students, 751 schools). Controlling for school fixed effects, native peer characteristics, and observed characteristics of students and their families, we find that students in cohorts with more immigrant peers within the same school have slightly higher propensities to complete upper-secondary education by their early twenties. The effects are about three times stronger among students from immigrant families compared to students with native-born parents, and are also robust to adjustment for average grade achievement. Moreover, these peer effects seem to mainly reflect the presence of immigrant classmates from high-achieving origin regions, while we do not find corresponding negative effects of exposure to immigrant classmates from low-achieving origin regions. In conclusion, these results indicate a modest positive influence of exposure to immigrant classmates on, primarily, immigrant students’ educational attainment several years later.

The Impact of Immigrant Classmates on Educational Outcomes in Egalitarian Norway

Despite a growing empirical literature on the relationship between immigrant concentration in schools and student achievement, few studies address longer-run outcomes. Using Norwegian registry data, this study addresses the causal impact of immigrant classmates on educational attainment in young adulthood, as well as academic track enrollment and educational achievement in school, within six entire student cohorts in their final 10th grade of compulsory education (310,742 students, 751 schools). Controlling for school fixed effects, native peer characteristics and observed characteristics of students and their families, we find that students in cohorts with more immigrant peers within the same school have slightly higher propensities to complete upper secondary education by their early twenties. The effects are about three times stronger among students from immigrant families compared to students with native-born parents, and are also robust to adjustment for average grade achievement. Moreover, these peer effects seem to primarily reflect the presence of immigrant classmates from high-achieving origin regions, while we do not find corresponding negative effects of exposure to immigrant classmates from low-achieving origin regions. In conclusion, these results indicate a modest positive influence of exposure to immigrant classmates on, primarily, immigrant students’ educational attainment several years later.

Child maltreatment and educational attainment in young adulthood: results from the Ontario Child Health Study.

There is increasing evidence for the adverse effects of child maltreatment on academic performance; however, most of these studies used selective samples and did not account for potential confounding or mediating factors. We examined the relationship between child physical abuse (PA; severe and non-severe) and sexual abuse (SA) and educational attainment (years of education, failure to graduate from high school) with a Canadian community sample. We used data from the Ontario Child Health Study (N = 1,893), a province-wide longitudinal survey. Potential confounding variables (family socio-demographic and parental capacity) and child-level characteristics were assessed in 1983, and child abuse was determined in 2000-2001 based on retrospective self-report. Results showed that PA and SA were associated with several factors indicative of social disadvantage in childhood. Multilevel regression analyses for years of education revealed a significant estimate for severe PA based on the unadjusted model (-0.60 years, 95% CI = [-0.45, -0.76]); estimates for non-severe PA (0.05 years, CI = [-0.15, 0.26]) and SA (-0.25 years, CI = [-0.09, -0.42]) were not significant. In the adjusted full model, the only association to reach significance was between severe PA and reduced years of education (-0.31 years, CI = [-0.18, -0.44]). Multilevel regression analyses for failure to graduate from high school showed significant unadjusted estimates for severe PA (OR = 1.77, 95% CI = [1.21, 2.58]) and non-severe PA (OR = 1.61, CI = [1.01, 2.57]); SA was not associated with this outcome (OR = 1.40, CI = [0.94, 2.07]). In the adjusted full models, there were no significant associations between child abuse variables and failure to graduate. The magnitude of effect of PA on both outcomes was reduced largely by child individual characteristics. These findings generally support earlier research, indicating the adverse effects of child maltreatment on educational attainment. Of particular note, severe PA was associated with reduced years of education after accounting for a comprehensive set of potential confounding variables and child characteristics.