Committed to work but vulnerable: Self-perceptions and mental health in NEET 18-year olds from a contemporary British cohort

Sidra Goldman-Mellor*, Avshalom Caspi, Louise Arseneault, Nifemi Ajala, Antony Ambler, Andrea Danese, Helen Fisher, Abigail Hucker, Candice Odgers, Teresa Williams, Chloe Wong, Terrie E. Moffitt

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

95 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

BackgroundLabour market disengagement among youths has lasting negative economic and social consequences, yet is poorly understood. We compared four types of work-related self-perceptions, as well as vulnerability to mental health and substance abuse problems, among youths not in education, employment or training (NEET) and among their peers.MethodsParticipants were from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) longitudinal study, a nationally representative UK cohort of 2,232 twins born in 1994–1995. We measured commitment to work, job-search effort, professional/technical skills, ‘soft’ skills (e.g. teamwork, decision-making, communication), optimism about getting ahead, and mental health and substance use disorders at age 18. We also examined childhood mental health.ResultsAt age 18, 11.6% of participants were NEET. NEET participants reported themselves as committed to work and searching for jobs with greater diligence than their non-NEET peers. However, they reported fewer ‘soft’ skills (B = −0.98, p < .001) and felt less optimistic about their likelihood of getting ahead in life (B = −2.41, p < .001). NEET youths also had higher rates of concurrent mental health and substance abuse problems, but these did not explain the relationship with work-related self-perceptions. Nearly 60% of NEET (vs. 35% of non-NEET) youths had already experienced ≥1 mental health problem in childhood/adolescence. Associations of NEET status with concurrent mental health problems were independent of pre-existing mental health vulnerability.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that while NEET is clearly an economic and mental health issue, it does not appear to be a motivation issue. Alongside skills, work-related self-perceptions and mental health problems may be targets for intervention and service provision among this high-risk population.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)196-203
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
Volume57
Issue number2
Early online date26 Aug 2015
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2016

Keywords

  • Adolescence
  • Depression
  • Employment
  • Longitudinal studies
  • Mental health
  • Self-perceptions

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