[Trajectories of Self-rated Health in Secondary Education: Results from the German National Educational Panel Study]

Self-rated health is an important indicator of current and future health. However, panel data-based findings are lacking that take into consideration the background features of differentiated development of self-reported adolescent health. This paper examines the development of self- rated health through secondary education from grade 5-12 in Germany, analyzing differences according to indicators of socio-economic position and other background characteristics such as gender and family structure.

5^th to 10^th grade data from the "Class 5" cohort and 9^th to 12^th grade data from the "9^th grade" cohort of the National Education Panel were combined. Growth curve models based on multi-level analysis were used to examine the level and course of self-rated health and to examine differences according to type of school, parenting, household income, gender and family structure. The final model contains 28,987 observations from 11,290 individuals over 8 time points.

Self-reported health declines slightly from 5^th to 12^th grade. Adolescents attending high school, living in higher-income households or parents with higher education status reported better health. Boys and adolescents growing up in nuclear families showed a more favorable course of self-rated health through secondary education.

This study provides a comprehensive overview of the development of self-rated health of adolescents in secondary education. In addition to the static differences according to background characteristics, girls and adolescents who do not live in nuclear families also had a worse prognosis for the development of self-rated health over the school career.