Early emotional and behavioral difficulties and adult educational attainment: an 18-year follow-up of the TEMPO study

Ariella Zbar, Pamela J. Surkan, Eric Fombonne, Maria Melchior

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Children who experience behavioral difficulties often have short and long-term school problems. However, the relationship between emotional difficulties and later academic achievement has not been thoroughly examined. Using data from the French TEMPO study (n = 666, follow-up 1991, 1999, 2009, mean age = 10.5, sd = 4.9 at baseline), we studied associations between internalizing and externalizing symptoms in: (a) childhood and (b) adolescence and educational attainment by young adulthood (< vs. ≥ high school degree), accounting for participants’ age, sex, juvenile academic difficulties, and family income. High levels of childhood (but not adolescent) internalizing and externalizing symptoms were associated with low educational attainment; however, in multivariate models only the association with childhood internalizing symptoms remained statistically significant (OR = 1.75, 95 % CI 1.00–3.02). Supporting children with internalizing problems early on could help improve their long-term educational attainment.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1141-1143
Number of pages3
JournalEuropean Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Volume25
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1 2016

Keywords

  • Cohort study
  • Educational attainment
  • Emotional difficulties
  • Epidemiology

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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