Early Onset Mental Health Problems, Educational Attainment and Productivity Loss in England: Evidence from the Millennium Cohort Study

Despite recognition of links between childhood mental health problems and education, there is limited longitudinal evidence on how timing, mechanisms and economic impacts interact. This project addresses these gaps using linked cohort (Millennium Cohort Study) and administrative data (National Pupil Database). It examines how early mental health problems, particularly emotional difficulties, in childhood and early adolescence relate to educational outcomes at age 16 in a large cohort of students in England. The study analyses mental health at multiple time points, explores the role of school absence and uses longitudinal statistical and economic modelling to assess associations and broader impacts, with the aim of informing prevention and policy. This study is part of the wider iCATS (Identifying Child Anxiety Through Schools) research programme.

Impact: Initial, preliminary results from the study were featured in The Times Health Commission report, a major real‑time assessment of the state of the NHS and public health, and in the N8 Research Partnership’s wide dissemination Improving mental health and wellbeing with and through education settings, to inform government policies to boost children’s mental health through schools.