Young people's health and well-being during the school-to-work transition: a prospective cohort study comparing post-secondary pathways

Reuter M, Herke M, Richter M, Diehl K, Hoffmann S, Pischke CR, Dragano N (2022)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2022

Journal

BMC Public Health BMC

Book Volume: 22

Pages Range: 1823-

Journal Issue: 1

DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-14227-0

Abstract

BACKGROUND: At the end of secondary education, young people can either start vocational training, enter university, directly transition to employment or become unemployed. Research assumes that post-secondary pathways have immediate and/or long-term impacts on health and well-being, but empirical investigations on this are scarce and restricted to few countries. Therefore, this study traced the development of health and well-being throughout the highly institutionalised school-to-work transition (STWT) in Germany. METHODS: We used longitudinal data of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), a representative sample of 11,098 school-leavers (50.5% girls) repeatedly interviewed between 2011 and 2020. We estimated the effect of post-secondary transitions on self-rated health and subjective well-being by applying fixed-effects (FE) regression, eliminating bias resulting from time-constant confounding and self-selection into different pathways. A multiple-sample strategy was used to account for the increasing diversity of STWTs patterns. Models were controlled for age, as well as household and residential changes to minimise temporal heterogeneity. RESULTS: Findings indicate that leaving school was good for health and well-being. Compared with participants who did not find a training position after school, direct transitions to vocational training or university were linked to higher absolute levels of health and well-being, but also to a lower relative decline over time. Furthermore, upward transitions (e.g. to programs leading to better education or from unemployment to employment) were associated with improvements in health and well-being, while downward transitions were followed by deteriorations. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that school-leave is a sensitive period and that post-secondary pathways provide young people with different abilities to maintain health and well-being. Youth health interventions might benefit when setting a stronger focus on unsuccessful school-leavers.

Authors with CRIS profile

Katharina Diehl Professur für Epidemiologie und Public Health

Involved external institutions

Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf DE Germany (DE) Universitätsklinikum Halle (Saale) DE Germany (DE) Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Reuter, M., Herke, M., Richter, M., Diehl, K., Hoffmann, S., Pischke, C.R., & Dragano, N. (2022). Young people's health and well-being during the school-to-work transition: a prospective cohort study comparing post-secondary pathways. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 1823-. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14227-0

MLA:

Reuter, Marvin, et al. "Young people's health and well-being during the school-to-work transition: a prospective cohort study comparing post-secondary pathways." BMC Public Health 22.1 (2022): 1823-.

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