Youth well-being predicts later academic success
Date
2022-02-08
Authors
Cárdenas, Diana
Lattimore, Finnian
Steinberg, Daniel
Reynolds, Katherine
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Publisher
Nature Publishing Group UK
Abstract
Young people worldwide face new challenges as climate change and complex family structures
disrupt societies. These challenges impact on youth’s subjective well-being, with evidence of decline
across many countries. While the burden of negative well-being on productivity is widely examined
amongst adults, its cost among youth remains understudied. The current research comprehensively
investigates the relationship between youth subjective well-being and standardized academic test
scores. We use highly controlled machine learning models on a moderately-sized high-school student
sample (N~ 3400), with a composite subjective well-being index (composed of depression, anxiety and
positive afect), to show that students with greater well-being are more likely to have higher academic
scores 7–8 months later (on Numeracy: β*= .033, p = .020). This efect emerges while also accounting
for previous test scores and other confounding factors. Further analyses with each well-being
measure, suggests that youth who experience greater depression have lower academic achievement
(Numeracy: β*= − .045, p = .013; Reading: β* = − .033, p = .028). By quantifying the impact of youth
well-being, and in particular of lowering depression, this research highlights its importance for the
next generation’s health and productivity.
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Scientific Reports
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Journal article
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Open Access
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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
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