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TOPLINE:

Children with early or persistent developmental problems in cognitive ability and socioemotional behaviour had four times higher odds of not passing their exams as adolescents than those without such issues, a UK study found.

METHODOLOGY:

• This longitudinal study analysed exposure trajectory data of cognitive and socioemotional development of 9084 children aged 3-14 years from the UK Millennium Cohort Study.
• Education attainment involved passing five or more General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) subjects at the age of 16 years.
• The contribution of cognitive and socioemotional problems to poor educational outcomes was quantified.

TAKEAWAY:

• Children with late socioemotional problems had 2.5 times higher odds of not achieving a standard GCSE pass than those without developmental problems (odds ratio [OR], 2.5; 95% CI, 2.1-3.0).
• Children with early cognitive and socioemotional problems had four times higher odds of not passing GCSE subjects than those without developmental problems (OR, 4.2; 95% CI, 3.4-5.3).
• The highest risk was observed in children with persistent cognitive and socioemotional problems (OR, 4.4; 95% CI, 3.3-5.8).
• About 17% of poor exam results in adolescence were attributed to cognitive and socioemotional behavioural problems in childhood (adjusted population-attributable fraction, 17%; 95% CI, 15%-19%).

IN PRACTICE:

"This study underscores the need for cross-sector health and education policy and targeted interventions to support redressing cognitive and socioemotional behaviour problems in children, particularly where they co-occur, as this may improve exam success and health in adolescence," the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Michelle Black and Lateef Akanni, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom. It was published online on February 10, 2025, in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

LIMITATIONS:

Causality could not be established in this observational study due to potential unknown confounding factors.

DISCLOSURES:

The study received funding from the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Several authors reported receiving funding from various NIHR institutions. The authors reported no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.