Session Information
05 SES 01 A, Addressing School Absence and Drop-out
Paper Session
Contribution
The paper presents some of the results of my upcoming dissertation about young mental health rehabilitants’ school experiences and educational trajectories in Finland. This paper focuses in school dropout at the upper secondary education from the viewpoint of young people with the background of psychological disability. A psychological disability refers to a spectrum of mental disorders or conditions that influence our emotions, cognitions and/or behaviors.
Transition from comprehensive school to the upper secondary level is associated with several challenges (Hjort et al 2016). For vulnerable groups, e.g. adolescents with psychological disabilities, these challenges are even more difficult (Lamb 2011). Especially depression affects the psychosocial and school-related development of adolescents in a major way (Dupere et al 2017; Schulte-Körne 2016). They increase the risk of having to dropping out of school before achieving any qualification, which is a serious problem both at an individual and societal level (Ramsdal et al 2018). Depressive disorders are also one of the most significant contributors to work disability and premature exit from the labor market (Maynard, Sala-Wright & Vaughn, 2015). Mental health problems are increasing worldwide. In Finland, about 20 % of all young adults are diagnosed with a psychological disorder, of which diagnoses of depression and anxiety are most usual (OECD 2019).
The purpose of this study, framed within a mixed design, concern to one part quantitative aspect of the associations between mental health problems and school dropouts, especially factors that increase the risk to drop out of school were explored. Another area of interest was to explore the experiences of dropping out of upper secondary education (qualitative aspect). The data consisted of quantitative survey data (n=121) as well as qualitative data from interviews (n=28) and open-ended survey responses (n=113). The analyses were conducted with logistic regression analysis and qualitative content analysis. When analyzing the data, a special interest was paid to school dropouts. The data were categorized into three essential categories (individual, family and institutional) according to Vincent Tinto’s explanatory model of the dropout process (Tinto 1973; Tinto 1975; Tinto 1997).
Both, quantitative and qualitative findings show that school dropout and mental health problems are strongly connected to each other. About one-fifth of the respondents had dropped out of upper secondary school. Based on the data, diagnosed mental health disorders by age 18, loneliness in upper comprehensive school, lack of social support and family background significantly increased likelihood of dropping out.
Method
The aim of the study was to examine 1) the associations between mental health problems and school dropouts, and 2) the experiences of dropping out of school. The data was collected through survey and interviews. The survey and the interviews included questions about their school experiences, educational paths, psychological disability, socioeconomic background and plans about the future. The survey was targeted at 18–34 year old mental health rehabilitants living in Finland. Altogether 121 respondents, who had received physical, psychological or social support to their mental health problems, from 14 counties, participated in the study. Survey data were collected in 2017. Overall, 28 persons of those 121 respondents were interviewed in 2018 and 2019. The study followed a mixed-method approach (e.g. Creswell et al. 2011; Fetters et al. 2013). Regarding the course of my research, I followed a multiphase model (e.g. multiphase iterative design, multistage mixed methods framework) in terms of both data collection and analysis as well as reporting and utilization of the results. Practically, I used multiple stages of data collection that include various combinations of explanatory sequential and convergent approaches (e.g. Fetters et al 2013). In the first stage, I collected and analyzed some of the quantitative data. In the second stage, I used quantitative findings to build individual interview questions for each participant. After preparation, I conducted semi-structured interviews with mental health rehabilitants to explore further these quantitative findings. In the third stage, I collected and analyzed some of the qualitative data. In the fourth stage, I used quantitative findings and qualitative findings iteratively in multiple phases. After that, I merged quantitative findings with qualitative findings using narrative approach for reporting results.
Expected Outcomes
The purpose of this study was to explore the school dropout from the viewpoint of young people with the background of psychological disability. Based on the results, school dropout and mental health problems were strongly connected to each other. Results also show that recent depression symptoms with lack of social support often leads to dropping out of upper secondary education. These findings suggest that early identification of problems and social support received from teachers are important factors for reaching desired learning outcomes. Consequently, providing school-based psychosocial services could be the key to identify mental health problems at an early stage. In sum, the early identification of mental health problems and the existence of school-based psychosocial services would enable the completion of studies.
References
Creswell, J. & Plano Clark, V. (2011) Designing and conducting mixed methods research. London: Sage. Dupere, V. & Dion, E. & Nault-Briere, F. & Archambault, I. & Leventhal, T. & Lesage, A. (2017) Revisiting the link between depression symthoms and high school dropout: Timing of exposure matters. Journal of Adolescent Health 62 (2018), 205–211. Fetters, M. & Curry, L. & Creswell, J.(2013) Integrating mixed methods in health services and delivery system research: Achieving integration in mixed methods designs -Principles and practices. HSR: Health Services Research 48:6, Part II. Hjort, C. & Bilgrav, L. & Frandsen, L. & Overgaad, C. & Torp-Pedersen, C. & Nielsen, B. & Böggild, H.(2016) Mental health and school dropout across educational levels and genders: a 4.8-year follow-up study. BMC Public Health 16:976. Lamb, S. 2011. School dropout and inequality. In S. Lamb, E. Markussen, R. Teese, N. Sandberg & J. Polesel (toim.) School dropout and completion: International comparative studies in theory and policy. Dordrecht: Springer, 369–390. Maynard, B. R., Sala-Wright, C. P., & Vaughn, M. G. (2015) High school dropouts in emerging adulthood: Substance use, mental health problems, and crime. Community Mental Health, 51. OECD (2019) Health at a Glance 2019 - OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris. Ramsdal, G. H. & Bergvik, S. & Wynn, R. (2018) Long-term dropout from school and work and mental health in young adults in Norway: A qualitative interview-based study. Cogent Psychology, 5:1. Schulte-Körne, G. (2016) Mental Health Problems in a School Setting in Children and Adolescent. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2016 Mar; 113(11): 183–190. Tinto, V.& Cullen, J. (1973). Dropout in higher education: a review and theoretical synthesis of recent research. Office of Education (DHEW), Contract OEC-0-73-1409, 99. Tinto, V. (1975). Dropout from higher education: a theoretical synthesis of recent research. Review of Educational Research, 45(1), 89-125. Tinto, V. (1997) Classrooms as Communities: Exploring the Educational Character of Student Persistence. The Journal of Higher Education, 68 (6), 599–623.
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