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Bidirectional longitudinal associations of mental health with academic performance in adolescents: DADOS study

Pediatric Research (2023)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

The dual-factor model of mental health (i.e., the presence of psychological well-being along with the absence of distress) and its association with academic performance over time has been barely studied in the adolescent population, as most of the prior research focuses on psychological well-being or distress indicators in isolation. The current study analyzed the bidirectional longitudinal association between the dual-factor model of mental health and academic performance in adolescents, comprising a longitudinal assessment 2 years apart.

Methods

A total of 266 secondary school students (13.9 ± 0.3 years at baseline) from Deporte, ADOlescencia y Salud study were assessed. Mental health was assessed through the Behavior Assessment System for Children and Adolescents. Academic performance was assessed through academic grades and the Test of Educational Abilities. A cross-lagged modeling approach was used to examine the bidirectional longitudinal association between mental health and academic performance.

Results

Higher academic performance at baseline was associated with better mental health over time, but not vice versa, since this association was not bidirectional.

Conclusion

Results suggest that academic performance is an important target for developing educational interventions, as it shapes adolescents’ mental health at 2 years of follow-up.

Impact

  • The overall picture of students’ mental health and academic performance was analyzed.

  • Academic performance may be a predictor of adolescents’ mental health status.

  • Mental health may not be a predictor of adolescents’ academic performance.

  • Good mental health should be promoted among youth with low academic performance.

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Fig. 1: Flowchart of the participants included in the study.
Fig. 2: Visualization of the cross-lagged panel modeling approach.

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Data availability

The datasets analyzed in the current study are available from the authors on reasonable request.

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Funding

The DADOS study was supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (DEP2013-45515-R) and the Universitat Jaume I (P1·1A2015-05, UJI-B2018-40, UJI-A2019-12, and UJI-A2022-02). This work is partly supported by a Sunny Sport research grant from the Schweppes Suntory Spain Company. In addition, M.R.-A. is supported by the Ramon Areces Foundation and I.M.-C. is supported by a predoctoral fellowship from the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training of Spain (FPU19/02462).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. LIFE Research Group, Department of Education and Specific Didactics, Universitat Jaume I, Castellon, Spain

    Irene Monzonís-Carda, Mireia Adelantado-Renau & Diego Moliner-Urdiales

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    María Rodriguez-Ayllon

Authors
  1. Irene Monzonís-Carda
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  2. María Rodriguez-Ayllon
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  4. Diego Moliner-Urdiales
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Contributions

D.M.-U. conceived the design of DADOS study. I.M.-C., M.A.-R., and D.M.-U. were involved in the data collection. I.M.-C. and M.R.-A. performed the initial idea, the design, the statistical analyses, and the interpretation of the data. I.M.-C. wrote the first draft of the manuscript and all authors contributed to, reviewed, and approved the final version.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diego Moliner-Urdiales.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Adolescents and their parents or guardians were informed of the nature and characteristics of DADOS study, and all provided written informed consent. In addition, the protocol of DADOS study was designed in accordance with the ethical guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki 1964 (last revision of Fortaleza, Brazil, 2013) and approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Universitat Jaume I of Castellon (Spain).

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Monzonís-Carda, I., Rodriguez-Ayllon, M., Adelantado-Renau, M. et al. Bidirectional longitudinal associations of mental health with academic performance in adolescents: DADOS study. Pediatr Res (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-023-02880-z

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