Mental Health among Adolescents Attending Different School Types - First Result from a Longitudinal Study

Abstract

The main objective of our longitudinal study is to analyze the health and risk behaviour and mental health of Hungarian students in different school types (high school, technical school, vocational training and vocational school) before and after a mental health promotion programme. In this study, we aim to provide a picture of the pre-programme situation, focusing on mental indicators. The study was designed using non-random, purposive, group sampling. In the quantitative research, in addition to sociodemographic data, standard questionnaires were used to measure students' subjective well-being (WBI-5), life satisfaction (SWLS-H) and self-esteem (RSES-H). High school students also underperformed compared to the other two types of schools in terms of general well-being and self-evaluation as they had significantly lower well-being (p=0.005), life satisfaction (p=0.022) and self-esteem (p=0.012) compared to technical school students. The mental health of high school students trying to cope with higher expectations shows a less favourable picture than their peers with less or no pressure of good performance at school. It would be crucial to take into account the impact on mental health of the different pressures arising from health education at school and to identify priority areas on this basis, with a focus on self-awareness, coping and stress management.