BodiMojo Teen Health Blog – Teenage Nutrition, Fitness, Stress, Relationships & More

by Samantha Burns

Did you know that a third of the youth in the United States do not finish high school on time?  Are you at risk for dropping out or falling behind?

A recent study entitled “Childhood and Adolescent-onset Psychiatric Disorders, Substance Use, and Failure to Graduate High School on Time” published online in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, found three factors which influence teens’ likelihood of completing high school:

* Teens with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, Combined Type) are less likely to finish high school on time than students with other mental health disorders. This is the type of ADHD that combines inattentiveness with hyperactivity.

* Second to ADHD, teens with Conduct Disorder, whose symptoms include breaking rules, aggression, and vandalism, are at risk for dropping out.

* Out of students who use substances, students who smoke cigarettes are at the greatest risk for dropping out.

Unfortunately many teens with ADHD struggle in the school environment.  I can image that my excitement for learning would quickly diminish if I could not sustain attention in class. Teachers and classmates can become frustrated with this type of behavior, and ADHD students may be viewed as a nuisance.  These teens may become discouraged when they see how easily learning comes to their peers.

The study conducted at the UC Davis School of Medicine found that 32.3 percent of students with this type of ADHD drop out of high school, while only 15 percent of teens with no psychological disorder drop out.  For students with conduct disorder, it is problems with disciplinary issues and daily routines that cause difficulty completing school, rather than academic performance.

It was interesting to learn that tobacco use is more predictive of dropping out than all other mental health disorders except for ADHD and conduct disorder.  I would have assumed that social anxiety or depression would have been more significant than smoking cigarettes.  According to the study, 29 percent of teens that used tobacco failed to complete high school on time, and the combination of tobacco with other substances (drinking/drugging) did not increase one’s risk of dropping out.

These results are helpful to start identifying at-risk students in order to keep them on track.  I believe that teens must work with their teachers and mental health professionals in order to prevent these disorders from affecting their academic performance.  If teens become aware of how their disorders and smoking habits may affect their future, then perhaps it is not too late for them to actively take a stance and graduate on time with the rest of their peers!

Samantha Burns is a graduate student in the counseling program at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology.