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Mental health as a risk factor for ESL: diagnostics, prevention, intervention
Thursday 23 July 2015, by
Mental health problems (e.g. anxiety, depression) are some of the risk factors for ESL and, by focusing on mental health prevention and intervention programmes in the school environment, we can reduce the many negative consequences poor mental health has on both the individual and community levels.
ESL is a complex long-term process involving multiple environmental, psychological and academic factors. There is increasing recognition of the need to recognise the role of mental health in educational processes (including in ESL). Studies investigating whether common mental disorders indeed constitute relevant risk factors for early school leavers have provided little consistent evidence. In the paper, we focus on internalisation problems (e.g. anxiety and depression) and externalisation problems (e.g. aggression) as well as the mechanisms linking them to lower academic achievement and ESL. The underlying mechanisms of mental health problems associated with low achievement are related to lower connectedness to school, negative attitudes to school, and peer rejection (in case of aggression and disruptive behaviour disorders), lower engagement through impaired mastery beliefs and negative emotionality (as in the case of depression) and difficulties with cognitive functioning through reduced memory functions and the impact of worries on the cognitive system (as in the case of anxiety). The relationship between mental health problems and school performance is two-directional. Mental health problems can precede problems related to school performance and, on the other hand, difficulties in school can result in various problems with mental health. In the paper, the importance of early recognition, assessment and later on prevention and intervention (on universal, selective and individual levels) is stressed. The findings are based on a review of the relevant literature. The need to clearly establish a relationship between anxiety and ESL is especially relevant since the research shows that anxiety levels are on the increase in school-aged populations (Kozina, 2014; Twenge, 2000). The studies in the EU (Angermeyer et al., 2004) which reveal that a high proportion (13.6%) of 18-year-olds have anxiety disorders make the topic even more pertinent.
[1] As a result of cognitive impairment or a deficit in the field of learning some children develop a fear of examinations, which is associated with lower achievement.
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