A more targeted focus on wellbeing for students starting secondary school is needed to halt a sharp decline in happiness later on, a study has suggested.
Researchers from Cambridge University and Manchester University analysed the wellbeing and self-esteem of more than 11,000 young people from across the UK, using data collected when they were 11, and again when they were 14.
The study found that the teenagers’ overall “subjective wellbeing”, defined as their satisfaction with different aspects of life, such as friends, school and family, dropped significantly during the intervening years.
It is widely accepted that young people’s wellbeing and mental health are influenced by factors such as economic circumstances and family life, and that it tends to fall steeply and across the board during early adolescence.
However, the research indicates that the decline is probably linked to the transition to secondary school at age 11.
Ioannis Katsantonis, a doctoral researcher at Cambridge’s Faculty of Education who led the study, believes the findings highlight that targeted support is needed to safeguard children against mental health decline during this period.
“Even though this was a large, diverse group of adolescents, we saw a consistent fall in wellbeing and one of the most striking aspects was the clear association with changes at school,” she said,
“It suggests we urgently need to do more to support students’ wellbeing at secondary schools across the UK.”
The study identified that the particular aspects of wellbeing that changed in early adolescence were typically related to school and peer relationships, suggesting a close connection with shifts in these young people’s academic and social lives.
In addition, students with higher self-esteem at age 11 experienced a less significant drop in wellbeing at age 14.
This indicates that structured efforts to strengthen adolescents’ self-esteem, particularly during the first years of secondary school, could mitigate the likely downturn in wellbeing and life satisfaction, the researchers found.
Co-author Ros McLellan, associate professor at Cambridge University and specialist in student wellbeing, said: “The link between self-esteem and wellbeing seems especially important.
“Supporting students’ capacity to feel positive about themselves during early adolescence is not a fix-all solution, but it could be highly beneficial, given that we know their wellbeing is vulnerable.”
The researchers used data from the Millennium Cohort Study, which involves a nationally representative sample of people born between 2000 and 2002 and incorporates standard questionnaires about wellbeing and self-esteem.
They then calculated a wellbeing “score” for each student, balanced to control for other factors that influence wellbeing - such as economic advantage, bullying and general feelings of safety.
While most adolescents were satisfied with life at age 11, the majority were extremely dissatisfied by age 14.
By that age, the wellbeing scores of 79 per cent of the participants fell below what had been the average score for the entire group three years earlier.
“This is a statistically significant drop,” Mr Katsantonis said. “It goes far beyond anything we would classify as moderate.”
He suggested that celebrating students’ achievements, underlining the value of things they had done well, and avoiding negative comparisons with other students, could all help.
The research is published in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology.
