Psychiatric disorders in adolescence associated with later social exclusion: A study
Helsinki [Finland], October 11 (ANI): A study of birth cohorts born in Finland in 1987 has shown that young people diagnosed with a mental disorder were often excluded from the labor market and education as young adults. This is especially true for young people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or psychosis.
The results of the study were published in The British Journal of Psychiatry.
Nearly 11 percent of young people who had been diagnosed with psychiatry were excluded from education and the labor market for at least five years in early childhood education. For other young people, this figure was just under 3%. The results have highlighted the importance of care and rehabilitation for people with mental disorders in preventing the social exclusion of young people.
“Preventing the social exclusion of young people requires more resources for their care and rehabilitation than are currently being used, as well as the development of evidence-based care and rehabilitation,” says Ida Ringbom, a youth psychiatrist and doctoral student at the Children’s Research Center. Psychiatry at the University of Turku.
The results are worrying because they highlight the link between mental illness and education and long-term exclusion from the labor market. In the study, long-term exclusion was defined as a period spent outside education or paid employment of at least five years.
The association was particularly strong with adolescents who had not completed high school and had been diagnosed with a mental disorder. Nearly half of these teens who had experienced psychosis and nearly three-quarters of teens diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder experienced long-term exclusion from education and the labor market in early adulthood.
“Vocational rehabilitation and close collaboration between psychiatry and social services are important to enable young people with mental health problems to enter the labor market,” said David Gyllenberg, assistant professor, study director.
“Young people who have not completed their secondary education need more targeted support because their risk of social exclusion is particularly high,” Gyllenberg added.
The study was conducted at the Child Psychiatry Research Center as part of the INVEST flagship program for inequality, interventions, and well-being research.
A joint project between the University of Turku and the Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare, funded by the Academy of Finland, INVEST focuses on reducing social inequality and reforming the welfare state. The Department of Health and Welfare is responsible for the 1987 National Birth Cohort.
The research group included researchers e.g. University of Turku, Department of Health and Welfare, Helsinki University Hospital and Itla Children’s Foundation. (LETTER I)