Author : Aase Villadsen , Senior Research Fellow , Institute of Education , UCL

This article was published in The Conversation in February 2024 https :// theconversation . com / being-excluded-or-truant-from-school-leads-tomental-health-problems-and-vice-versa-222194

Global Health Asia-Pacific is republishing it under Creative Commons licence .

�esearch has previously shown that exclusion ( a child being removed from school ) and truancy are linked with poor mental health .

Now , I have carried out research with colleagues to examine whether mental health leads to exclusion and truancy , or whether exclusion and truancy are in fact contributing to poor mental health in children and adolescents .

We found that the connection goes both ways . Children who struggled with their mental health were more likely to later be excluded from school and to truant . And we also found evidence that exclusion and truancy could increase their mental health di�culties .

A vicious cycle Missing out on school is detrimental not only to children ’ s educational achievement but also to their wellbeing and overall development . These children miss out on important formative interactions with their peers and teachers .

Being excluded from school can have a long-term � even life-long � impact . �esearch suggests that children who have been excluded are more likely to be unemployed and to go to prison , as well as to have mental health di�culties .

In our study we used nationally representative data from more than 15,000 children born in the UK between 2000 and 2002 . The survey collected extensive information on participants during their childhood and teenage years , including information on behavioural problems , such as aggressive behaviour , and emotional problems involving symptoms of

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