TY - JOUR
T1 - Cross-National Time Trends in Adolescent Mental Well-Being From 2002 to 2018 and the Explanatory Role of Schoolwork Pressure
AU - Cosma, Alina
AU - Stevens, Gonneke
AU - Martin, Gina
AU - Duinhof, Elisa L.
AU - Walsh, Sophie D.
AU - Garcia-Moya, Irene
AU - Költő, András
AU - Gobina, Inese
AU - Canale, Natale
AU - Catunda, Carolina
AU - Inchley, Jo
AU - de Looze, Margaretha
N1 - Funding Information:
The work was supported by the European Regional Development Fund-Project “Effective Use of Social Research Studies for Practice” (No. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_025/0007294). I.G.M. has received financial support from the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through the Ramon y Cajal Programme (RYC-2017-21626). J.I. was supported by the UK Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12017/12) and the Chief Scientist Office (SPHSU12). This work was also supported by the MRC Mental Health Data Pathfinder Award (MC_PC_17217). Disclosure: This supplement was supported by the World Health Organization European Office and the University of Glasgow. The articles have been peer-reviewed and edited by the editorial staff of the Journal of Adolescent Health. The opinions or views expressed in this supplement are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the funder.
Funding Information:
Disclosure: This supplement was supported by the World Health Organization European Office and the University of Glasgow. The articles have been peer-reviewed and edited by the editorial staff of the Journal of Adolescent Health. The opinions or views expressed in this supplement are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the funder.
Funding Information:
The work was supported by the European Regional Development Fund -Project “Effective Use of Social Research Studies for Practice” (No. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_025/0007294 ). I.G.M. has received financial support from the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through the Ramon y Cajal Programme ( RYC-2017-21626 ). J.I. was supported by the UK Medical Research Council ( MC_UU_12017/12 ) and the Chief Scientist Office ( SPHSU12 ). This work was also supported by the MRC Mental Health Data Pathfinder Award ( MC_PC_17217 ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020
PY - 2020/6
Y1 - 2020/6
N2 - Purpose: Previous research has shown inconsistent time trends in adolescent mental well-being, but potential underlying mechanisms for such trends are yet to be examined. This study investigates cross-national time trends in adolescent mental well-being (psychosomatic health complaints and life satisfaction) in mainly European countries and the extent to which time trends in schoolwork pressure explain these trends. Methods: Data from 915,054 adolescents from 36 countries (50.8% girls; meanage = 13.54; standard deviationage = 1.63) across five Health Behaviour in School-aged Children surveys (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018) were included in the analyses. Hierarchical multilevel models estimated cross-national trends in adolescent mental well-being and schoolwork pressure. We also tested whether schoolwork pressure could explain these trends in mental well-being. Results: A small linear increase over time in psychosomatic complaints and schoolwork pressure was found. No change in life satisfaction emerged. Furthermore, there was large cross-country variation in the prevalence of, and trends over time in, adolescent mental well-being and schoolwork pressure. Overall, declines in well-being and increases in schoolwork pressure were apparent in the higher income countries. Across countries, the small increase in schoolwork pressure over time partly explained the decline in psychosomatic health complaints. Conclusions: Our findings do not provide evidence for substantial declines in mental well-being among adolescents. Yet, the small declines in mental well-being and increases in schoolwork pressure appear to be quite consistent across high-income countries. This calls for the attention of public health professionals and policy-makers. Country differences in trends in both adolescent mental well-being outcomes and schoolwork pressure were considerable, which requires caution regarding the cross-national generalization of national trends.
AB - Purpose: Previous research has shown inconsistent time trends in adolescent mental well-being, but potential underlying mechanisms for such trends are yet to be examined. This study investigates cross-national time trends in adolescent mental well-being (psychosomatic health complaints and life satisfaction) in mainly European countries and the extent to which time trends in schoolwork pressure explain these trends. Methods: Data from 915,054 adolescents from 36 countries (50.8% girls; meanage = 13.54; standard deviationage = 1.63) across five Health Behaviour in School-aged Children surveys (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018) were included in the analyses. Hierarchical multilevel models estimated cross-national trends in adolescent mental well-being and schoolwork pressure. We also tested whether schoolwork pressure could explain these trends in mental well-being. Results: A small linear increase over time in psychosomatic complaints and schoolwork pressure was found. No change in life satisfaction emerged. Furthermore, there was large cross-country variation in the prevalence of, and trends over time in, adolescent mental well-being and schoolwork pressure. Overall, declines in well-being and increases in schoolwork pressure were apparent in the higher income countries. Across countries, the small increase in schoolwork pressure over time partly explained the decline in psychosomatic health complaints. Conclusions: Our findings do not provide evidence for substantial declines in mental well-being among adolescents. Yet, the small declines in mental well-being and increases in schoolwork pressure appear to be quite consistent across high-income countries. This calls for the attention of public health professionals and policy-makers. Country differences in trends in both adolescent mental well-being outcomes and schoolwork pressure were considerable, which requires caution regarding the cross-national generalization of national trends.
KW - Adolescence
KW - Adolescent
KW - Country variation
KW - Cross-national
KW - HBSC
KW - Life satisfaction
KW - Mental health
KW - Mental well-being
KW - Multilevel analysis
KW - Psychosomatic health complaints
KW - Schoolwork pressure
KW - Trends
KW - Well-being
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85084791460&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.02.010
DO - 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.02.010
M3 - Journal Article
C2 - 32446609
AN - SCOPUS:85084791460
SN - 1054-139X
VL - 66
SP - S50-S58
JO - Journal of Adolescent Health
JF - Journal of Adolescent Health
IS - 6
ER -
