Examination of Current Anxiety Problems with School Engagement and Volunteer and Paid Work among U.S. Adolescents

Abstract

This study examined the relationships between current anxiety problems and school engagement, community service or volunteer work, and paid work among U.S. adolescents. The 2018–2019 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) dataset was analyzed and included 24,609 adolescents ages 12–17 years. We conducted unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression analyzes. A total of 12.6% of adolescents had healthcare provider-confirmed current anxiety problems. Adolescents with current anxiety were at decreased odds of engaging in school (aOR = 0.35, 95%CI = 0.29, 0.41) and participating in community service or volunteer work (aOR = 0.72, 95%CI = 0.59, 0.86) compared to adolescents without current anxiety. Adolescents with current anxiety were at increased odds of participating in paid work (OR = 1.18, 95%CI = 1.01, 1.38). This study reports that U.S. adolescents with anxiety were less likely to engage in school and participate in community service or volunteer work, but were more likely to participate in paid work compared to their peers without anxiety. Results should inform future interventions targeting adolescents.

Keywords

mental health anxiety school engagement employment health education middle/junior/high school adolescents

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

Bachman

J. G.

Staff

O’Malley

P. M.

Freedman-Doan

(2013). Adolescent work intensity, school performance, and substance use: Links vary by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Developmental Psychology, 49(11), 2125–2134. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031464

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Health and Medicine Division , Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education , Board on Children, Youth, and Families , Committee on the Neurobiological and Socio-behavioral Science of Adolescent Development and Its Applications , Backes

E. P.

Bonnie

R. J.

(Eds.). (2019). The promise of adolescence: Realizing opportunity for all youth. National Academies Press (US).

Ballard

P. J.

Hoyt

L. T.

Pachucki

M. C.

(2019). Impacts of adolescent and young adult civic engagement on health and socioeconomic status in adulthood. Child Development, 90(4), 1138–1154. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12998

Bandelow

Michaelis

(2015). Epidemiology of anxiety disorders in the 21st century. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 17(3), 327–335. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2015.17.3/bbandelow

Burger

Mortimer

J. T.

(2021). Socioeconomic origin, future expectations, and educational achievement: A longitudinal three-generation study of the persistence of family advantage. Developmental Psychology, 57(9), 1540–1558. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001238

Cemalcilar

(2009). Understanding individual characteristics of adolescents who volunteer. Personality and Individual Differences, 46(4), 432–436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2008.11.009

Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (2021). 2018–2019 national survey of children’s health (2 years combined data set): Child and family health measures, national performance and outcome measures, and subgroups, SPSS codebook, version 1.0. Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health supported by Cooperative Agreement U59MC27866 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau. www.childhealthdata.org

Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (2019). 2018 national survey of children’s health: Guide to topics and questions. Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau. www.childhealthdata.org

10.

Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (2020). 2019 national survey of children’s health: Guide to topics and questions. Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau. www.childhealthdata.org

11.

de Lijster

J. M.

Dieleman

G. C.

Utens

E. M. W. J.

Dierckx

Wierenga

Verhulst

F. C.

Legerstee

J. S.

(2018). Social and academic functioning in adolescents with anxiety disorders: A systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders, 230, 108–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.01.008

12.

Essau

C. A.

Lewinsohn

P. M.

Olaya

Seeley

J. R.

(2014). Anxiety disorders in adolescents and psychosocial outcomes at age 30. Journal of Affective Disorders, 163, 125–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2013.12.033

13.

Eysenck

M. W.

Derakshan

Santos

Calvo

M. G.

(2007). Anxiety and cognitive performance: Attentional control theory. Emotion (Washington, D.C.), 7(2), 336–353. https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.7.2.336

14.

Fall

Roberts

(2012). High school dropouts: Interactions between social context, self-perceptions, school engagement, and student dropout. Journal of Adolescence, 35(4), 787–798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.11.004

15.

Feiss

Dolinger

S. B.

Merritt

Reiche

Martin

Yanes

J. A.

Thomas

C. M.

Pangelinan

(2019). A systematic review and meta-analysis of school-based stress, anxiety, and depression prevention programs for adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48(9), 1668–1685. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01085-0

16.

Finning

Ukoumunne

O. C.

Ford

Danielson-Waters

Shaw

Romero De Jager

Stentiford

Moore

D. A.

(2019). Review: The association between anxiety and poor attendance at school—A systematic review. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 24(3), 205–216. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12322

17.

Fredricks

J. A.

Blumenfeld

P. C.

Paris

A. H.

(2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74(1), 59–109. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543074001059

18.

Ginsburg

G. S.

Drake

K. L.

Muggeo

M. A.

Stewart

C. E.

Pikulski

P. J.

Zheng

Harel

(2021). A pilot RCT of a school nurse delivered intervention to reduce student anxiety. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 50(2), 177–186. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2019.1630833

19.

Gmitroski

Bradley

Heinemann

Liu

Blanchard

Beck

Mathias

Leon

Barbic

S. P.

(2018). Barriers and facilitators to employment for young adults with mental illness: A scoping review. BMJ Open, 8(12), e024487. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-024487

20.

Hernantes

Pumar-Méndez

M. J.

López-Dicastillo

Iriarte

Mujika

(2019). Volunteerism as adolescent health promotion asset: A scoping review. Health Promotion International, 35(3), 610–623. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daz026

21.

Hoskote

A. R.

Croce

Johnson

K. E.

(2023). The evolution of the role of U.S. school nurses in adolescent mental health at the individual, community, and systems level: An integrative review. The Journal of School Nursing, 39(1), 51–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/10598405211068120

22.

Kaskoun

McCabe

(2022). Perceptions of school nurses in addressing student mental health concerns: An integrative review. The Journal of School Nursing, 38(1), 35–47. https://doi.org/10.1177/10598405211046223

23.

Kessler

R. C.

Avenevoli

Costello

E. J.

Georgiades

Green

J. G.

Gruber

M. J.

Koretz

McLaughlin

K. A.

Petukhova

Sampson

N. A.

Zaslavsky

A. M.

Merikangas

K. R.

(2012). Prevalence, persistence, and sociodemographic correlates of DSM-IV disorders in the national comorbidity survey replication adolescent supplement. Archives of General Psychiatry, 69(4), 372–380. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.160

24.

Kessler

R. C.

Berglund

Demler

Jin

Merikangas

K. R.

Walters

E. E.

(2005). Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the national comorbidity survey replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(6), 593–602. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.62.6.593

25.

Kim

Morgül

(2017). Long-term consequences of youth volunteering: Voluntary versus involuntary service. Social Science Research, 67, 160–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2017.05.002

26.

Lam

Jimerson

Shin

Cefai

Veiga

F. H.

Hatzichristou

Polychroni

Kikas

Wong

B. P. H.

Stanculescu

Basnett

Duck

Farrell

Liu

Negovan

Nelson

Yang

Zollneritsch

(2016). Cultural universality and specificity of student engagement in school: The results of an international study from 12 countries. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 86(1), 137–153. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12079

27.

Lerner

R. M.

(2011). Trajectories of school engagement during adolescence: Implications for grades, depression, delinquency, and substance use. Developmental Psychology, 47(1), 233–247. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021307

28.

Zhang

Liu

Arbeit

M. R.

Schwartz

S. J.

Bowers

E. P.

Lerner

R. M.

(2011). The role of school engagement in preventing adolescent delinquency and substance use: A survival analysis. Journal of Adolescence, 34(6), 1181–1192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.07.003

29.

Mikami

A. Y.

Ruzek

E. A.

Hafen

C. A.

Gregory

Allen

J. P.

(2017). Perceptions of relatedness with classroom peers promote adolescents’ behavioral engagement and achievement in secondary school. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46(11), 2341–2354. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-017-0724-2

30.

Mojtabai

Stuart

E. A.

Hwang

Eaton

W. W.

Sampson

Kessler

R. C.

(2015). Long-term effects of mental disorders on educational attainment in the national comorbidity survey ten-year follow-up. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 50(10), 1577–1591. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-015-1083-5

31.

Moorfoot

Leung

R. K.

Toumbourou

J. W.

Catalano

R. F.

(2015). The longitudinal effects of adolescent volunteering on secondary school completion and adult volunteering. International Journal of Developmental Science, 9(3–4), 115–123. https://doi.org/10.3233/DEV-140148

32.

Moran

T. P.

(2016). Anxiety and working memory capacity: A meta-analysis and narrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 142(8), 831–864. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000051

33.

Mortimer

J. T.

(2010). The benefits and risks of adolescent employment. The Prevention Researcher, 17(2), 8–11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2936460/

34.

Mychailyszyn

M. P.

Mendez

J. L.

Kendall

P. C.

(2010). School functioning in youth with and without anxiety disorders: Comparisons by diagnosis and comorbidity. School Psychology Review, 39(1), 106–121. https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2010.12087793

35.

Nail

J. E.

Christofferson

Ginsburg

G. S.

Drake

Kendall

P. C.

McCracken

J. T.

Birmaher

Walkup

J. T.

Compton

S. N.

Keeton

Sakolsky

(2015). Academic impairment and impact of treatments among youth with anxiety disorders. Child & Youth Care Forum, 44(3), 327–342. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-014-9290-x

36.

Noel

V. A.

Oulvey

Drake

R. E.

Bond

G. R.

(2017). Barriers to employment for transition-age youth with developmental and psychiatric sisabilities. Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 44(3), 354–358. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-016-0773-y

37.

Olesen

S. C.

Butterworth

Leach

L. S.

Kelaher

Pirkis

(2013). Mental health affects future employment as job loss affects mental health: Findings from a longitudinal population study. BMC Psychiatry, 13, 144. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-13-144

38.

Parker

K. E.

Salmon

Brown

H. L.

Villanueva

Timperio

(2019). Typologies of adolescent activity related health behaviours. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 22(3), 319–323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2018.08.015

39.

Pella

J. E.

Slade

E. P.

Pikulski

P. J.

Ginsburg

G. S.

(2020). Pediatric anxiety disorders: A cost of illness analysis. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 48(4), 551–559. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-020-00626-7

40.

Salmela-Aro

Tang

Symonds

Upadyaya

(2021). Student engagement in adolescence: A scoping review of longitudinal studies 2010–2020. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 31(2), 256–272. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12619

41.

Shankar

Runyan

C. W.

Harpin

S. B.

Lewko

(2021). Perspectives of parents of working adolescents in Ontario, Canada. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 323. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10377-9

42.

U.S. Census Bureau (2019). 2018 National Survey of Children’s Health: Methodology report . https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nsch/technical-documentation/methodology/2018-NSCH-Methodology-Report.pdf

43.

U.S. Census Bureau (2020). 2019 National Survey of Children’s Health: Methodology report . https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nsch/technical-documentation/methodology/2019-NSCH-Methodology-Report.pdf

44.

Usher

A. M.

Breslin

MacEachen

Koehoorn

Laberge

Ledoux

Wong

(2014). Employment and work safety among 12 to 14 year olds: Listening to parents. BMC Public Health, 14(1), 1021. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-1021

45.

Wang

Eccles

J. S.

(2013). School context, achievement motivation, and academic engagement: A longitudinal study of school engagement using a multidimensional perspective. Learning and Instruction, 28, 12–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2013.04.002

46.

Wang

Fredricks

J. A.

(2014). The reciprocal links between school engagement, youth problem behaviors, and school dropout during adolescence. Child Development, 85(2), 722–737. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12138

47.

Wang

Holcombe

(2010). Adolescents’ perceptions of school environment, engagement, and academic achievement in middle school. American Educational Research Journal, 47(3), 633–662. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831209361209

48.

Wray-Lake

Shubert

Lin

Starr

L. R.

(2019). Examining associations between civic engagement and depressive symptoms from adolescence to young adulthood in a national U.S. sample. Applied Developmental Science, 23(2), 119–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2017.1326825

49.

Zaff

J. F.

Moore

K. A.

Papillo

A. R.

Williams

(2003). Implications of extracurricular activity participation during adolescence on positive outcomes. Journal of Adolescent Research, 18(6), 599–630. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558403254779