School Functioning and Educational Aspirations in Adolescents With Social Anxiety-The Young-HUNT3 Study, Norway

Ingunn Jystad; Tommy Haugan; Ottar Bjerkeset; Erik R Sund; Jonas Vaag

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.727529

School Functioning and Educational Aspirations in Adolescents With Social Anxiety-The Young-HUNT3 Study, Norway

Front Psychol. 2021 Oct 12:12:727529. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.727529. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Ingunn Jystad^{1

2}, Tommy Haugan¹, Ottar Bjerkeset^{1

3}, Erik R Sund^{1

4

5}, Jonas Vaag^{6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Nursing and Health Science, Nord University, Levanger, Norway.
² Department of Public Health and Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
³ Department of Mental Health, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
⁴ HUNT Research Centre, Department of Public Health and Nursing, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
⁵ Levanger Hospital, Nord-Trøndelag Hospital Trust, Levanger, Norway.
⁶ Faculty of Social Sciences, Nord University, Levanger, Norway.
⁷ Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.

Abstract

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) typically emerges during childhood or early adolescence and often has long-term effects on several areas of an individual's life, including school and education. The purpose of this study is to examine whether social anxiety is associated with (1) school functioning in terms of behavioral difficulties (hyperactivity and/or attention problems), school dissatisfaction, social exclusion, truancy, and learning difficulties, and (2) educational aspirations (educational level). We use data from the population-based Young-HUNT3 study (2006-2008), where 8,199 Norwegian adolescents participated. Social anxiety is measured both as self-report [the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C)], and as screening information from diagnostic interviews [Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule for DSM IV: child version (ADIS-C)]. ADIS-C screening positives (n = 388) reported higher rates of behavioral difficulties (RR = 1.06), school dissatisfaction (RR = 1.15), social exclusion (RR = 1.24), truancy (RR = 1.05), and learning difficulties (RR = 1.10) compared to screened negatives. Self-reported social anxiety symptoms showed similar patterns. Further, higher mean scores of self-reported social anxiety symptoms and being ADIS-C screening positive were negatively associated with aspirations of higher education (OR = 0.92 and OR = 0.74, respectively). However, as regards to having aspirations for the future (aspirations of higher education and/or aspirations of vocational training), no associations were found. The results indicate that social anxiety in adolescence is related to unfavorable/poorer school functioning and lower tendency of aspirations of higher education, which may have consequences for future educational pathways and later work life.

Keywords: HUNT study; SAD; adolescents; bullying; educational aspirations; school functioning; social anxiety disorder; social exclusion.