Teachers’ assessments of children aged eight predict life satisfaction in adolescence

• Published in: European child & adolescent psychiatry Vol. 20; no. 9; pp. 469 - 479
• Main Authors: Meri, Honkanen, Tuula, Hurtig, Anja, Taanila, Irma, Moilanen, Hannu, Koponen, Pirjo, Mäki, Juha, Veijola, Anita, Puustjärvi, Hanna, Ebeling, Heli, Koivumaa-Honkanen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.09.2011; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Assessment; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child & adolescent psychiatry; Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Child development; Child psychology; Children; Children & youth; Clinical medicine; Educational Status; Faculty; Families & family life; Family; Female; Happiness; Health promotion; Hospitals; Humans; Life satisfaction; Male; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental Health; Miscellaneous; Original Contribution; Parents; Parents & parenting; Personal Satisfaction; Prospective Studies; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Questionnaires; Schools; Sex Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teachers; Teenagers; Europe; Finland; Lapland; School; RB2; Cohort; Adolescent; Mental health; Children; Quality of life; Life satisfaction; Human; Social environment; Satisfaction; Teacher rating; School environment; School age; Follow up study; Cohort study; Predictive factor; Child; Public health
• ISSN: 1018-8827; 1435-165X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00787-011-0200-6

The objective was to investigate how teachers’ assessments of children predict life satisfaction in adolescence. This is a prospective cohort study on the population-based Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 ( n  = 8,959). Information was gathered from parents, teachers and adolescents using questionnaires at the age of 7, 8 and 15. Response rates were 80–90%. Emotional and behavioural problems were assessed with Rutter Children’s Behavioural Questionnaires for teachers (RB2) and parents (RA2) during the first grade at age 8. At adolescence, self-reported life satisfaction was measured with a question including five response alternatives. According to teachers’ assessments, 13.9% of the children had high emotional or behavioural problems (RB2 ≥9). These assessments predicted life dissatisfaction in adolescence (OR crude  = 1.77; 95% CI 1.43–2.20) in several models including also health behaviour and use of psychotropic medicine. However, introducing all the significant variables in the same model, RB2 lost its significance (OR = 1.28; 0.96–1.70), but good school achievement assessed by teachers was still a significant predictor. Life satisfaction in adolescence was associated with a variety of favourable concurrent factors. In conclusion teachers’ assessments of children during the first school year predicted life satisfaction in adolescence. In mental health promotion, teachers’ early assessments should be utilized for the benefit of children.