An inclusive school system provides equal opportunities for education and satisfaction of individual learning needs to all pupils. In recent years, the understanding of inclusion has broadened to focus on the best possible support and participation of all learners (Booth & Ainscow, 2002). The larger scope includes not only physical disabilities or learning problems, but also other aspects possibly linked with marginalization, such as mental health problems.

A relevant group of learners in the context of inclusion are children and adolescents with mental illness. Studies have shown that anxiety disorders are among the most common mental illnesses in children and adolescents, affecting about 10% (Schneider & Margraf, 2019). Depressive disorders are also very common, especially in adolescence. The prevalence rate of depression increases from less than 2% in kindergarten children to about 9% during adolescence to more than 20% by age 18 (Pössel, 2019). These disorders tend to persist into adulthood and, if left untreated, can have long-term consequences for the rest of the life course (Pössel, 2019; Schneider & Margraf, 2019).

The impact of mental illness on the transition from compulsory education to vocational education and training (VET) has been little researched to date - in particular, the recording of transition trajectories in this group of learners represents a research gap (Kranert & Stein, 2019). Research in this field is important because the transition from school to VET represents an important developmental step for young adults and lays the foundation for their professional future as well as for the further course of their lives. Early educational decisions and career transitions have long-term consequences; for example, missed vocational training is rarely compensated later on in the career and early career decisions are rarely changed (Blossfeld, 1988). In addition to performance- and aptitude-related characteristics, ascriptive characteristics such as gender, natio-ethno-cultural and social origin exert a significant influence on the transition process (e.g. Glauser, 2015).

Previous research shows that the presence of a diagnosed mental illness at lower secondary level is associated with lower educational aspirations and, consequently, more likely school failure, and can significantly complicate the transition to VET further down the line (for a review see Stein & Kranert, 2020). In addition, various studies have shown that depression and anxiety disorders can have a negative effect on VET (de Lijster et al., 2018; Wickersham et al., 2021). However, previous studies on the influence of mental illness incompletely consider performance- and aptitude-related as well as ascriptive characteristics (e.g. Baumann et al., 2018). From the literature is known that mental illnesses correlate for example with gender and natio-ethno-cultural background. The question therefore arises how large the correlation between mental illnesses and educational attainment is when adjusting for these factors.

The planned study contributes to closing this desideratum and investigates whether the presence of an anxiety disorder or depression during lower secondary level is a risk factor for three aspects of educational attainment: intellectual demands of VET, educational changes, and educational satisfaction. Additionally, it is explored, inasmuch these associations are stable when adjusting for performance, social and natio-ethno-cultural origin as well as further central ascriptive characteristics.

The study is based on a prospective longitudinal study among pupils in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. The baseline assessment was completed during second or third year of compulsory secondary school (mean age: 15.3 years) and the follow-up four years later (mean age: 19.7 years). A total of 2228 pupils participated in the baseline study, 1368 of those pupils also participated in the follow-up (retention rate overall = 61%). At baseline, standardized school achievement (standardized tests in math and language to assess academic performance level) and intelligence tests (Culture Fair Intelligence Test 20-R) were administered to the adolescents, and sociodemographic and origin-related variables (highest international socioeconomic index of occupational status; Ganzeboom, 2010) were collected. In addition, the teachers indicated for each pupil in the class, whether they received integrative school measures. At follow-up, criterion variable (level of intellectual demands of VET (Stalder, 2011), change of education and satisfaction with education) were collected for the first, second and third year after completion of compulsory education. At follow-up, the young adults were additionally asked retrospectively whether they received a clinical diagnosis for anxiety disorder, depression, or other mental illnesses at lower secondary level and with which school grades they completed lower secondary level. Mental illnesses and school performance were assessed with objective criteria as cues (clinical diagnosis, grades), therefore the bias due to the retrospective assessment is supposed to be minimal (Schmier & Halpern, 2004). Initial analyses examined the possible association between the presence of an anxiety disorder or depression at baseline and outcome variables at the transition to vocational education stage, with stepwise regression models adding baseline context variables (age, gender, natio-ethno-cultural background, intelligence, school achievement, school level, grades, and integrative school measures). For the final version of the present study, a propensity score matching approach is expected to be used. This allows, similar to a case-control study, to compare the educational trajectories of adolescents with vs. without a diagnosed anxiety disorder or depression, with both groups being similar in terms of achievement-related, aptitude-related, and ascriptive characteristics.

Results: Preliminary results on 1368 youth with complete data show that 11.3% (n = 154) of young adults reported having received a diagnosis of mental illness at lower secondary level. 5.7% (n = 78) of the total sample reported a diagnosed depressive disorder and 3.6% (n = 49) an anxiety disorder. The presence of an anxiety disorder or depression was a significant predictor of lower level of intellectual demands of VET, more frequent educational changes, and lower educational satisfaction. The same pattern of results could be found, even when adjusted for context variables (such as e.g., social origin, intelligence). Therefore, the present study shows consistently that a diagnosed anxiety disorder or depression at lower secondary level is a risk factor for the transition from compulsory education to VET. Discussion: The negative impact of mental illnesses, as shown here for diagnosed anxiety disorder and depression, on the transition from compulsory education to VET can have far-reaching consequences. For example, a lower level of intellectual demands of VET can make it more difficult to access certain occupational fields and positions (Glauser, 2015). Since the transition from compulsory school to VET has a central influence on the further course of life, it is of great importance to provide targeted support to young people with a mental illness at an early stage. However, care services for children and adolescents with mental illnesses are often insufficient, especially for those from psychosocially and economically distressed families. In the context of inclusion, a "good school for all" should be sensitive to mental illness in adolescence, provide early support, and thus reduce possible educational inequalities. The earlier a mental illness is diagnosed and treated, the better the prognosis for the rest of the person's life.

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