[Associations between early-onset mental disorders and educational attainment in Belgium; a population study]

There is no sufficient knowledge on the association between early-onset mental disorders and subsequent school dropout on the level of the Belgian general population.

To investigate the associations between early-onset mental disorders and subsequent school dropout.

As part of the European Study on the Epidemiology of Mental Disorders of the World Mental Health Surveys of the World Health Organization, a representative random sample of non-institutionalised Belgians aged 18 or older (n = 1,043) were interviewed between April 2001 and June 2002. With the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (version 3.0), respondents were assessed for the presence and age of onset of 15 dsm-iv mental disorders. Logistic regression analyses were performed in order to investigate the association between mental disorders and subsequent failure to complete elementary and/or secondary education, failure to proceed to tertiary education (when holding a secondary education leaving certificate) and failure to completion of tertiary education.

Mood disorders were significantly associated with premature termination of secondary education (or = 2.4). Anxiety disorders (or = 2.0), drug abuse disorders (or = 11.2), and drug dependence disorders (or = 19.4) were significantly associated with failure to proceed to tertiary education. The cumulative proportion of early school terminations attributable to earlyonset mental disorders was estimated at 6.3%.

Early-onset mental disorders have a considerable impact on school termination prior to completion in Belgium.