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Better education, employment not linked with high mental well-being

Education was not associated with a higher well-being in this study, even though low educational attainment is strongly linked to mental illness, according to data from researchers in the United Kingdom.

“Policy makers, parents and young people make the assumption that more education is good for you. This study contradicts that belief,” Sarah Stewart-Brown, MD, professor of public health at Warwick Medical School in the United Kingdom, told Healio.com/Psychiatry. “Educational qualifications may increase earning capacity, but don’t help people feel better or function better socially.”

Stewart-Brown and colleagues used results from the Health Survey for England (HSE) and measured the independent ORs of high and low mental well-being using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS). The HSE and WEMWBS were administered to 17,030 participants in 2010 and 2011. The researchers measured factors that could potentially influence mental well-being, such as gender, age, ethnicity, employment, household income, education, and marital status.

They found that there was an increased OR for low mental well-being for participants who were unemployed (OR = 1.46; 95% CI, 1.01-2.1) and who were aged 35 to 54 years (OR = 1.58; 95% CI, 1.35-1.84). A decreased OR was found for low mental well-being in married participants (OR = 0.78; 95% CI, 0.62-0.97). There was an increased OR of high mental well-being for participants aged 55 years or older (OR = 1.48; 95% CI, 1.23-1.79) and for those that were retired (OR = 1.35; 95% CI, 1.09-1.69). There was no significant association between higher mental well-being and any education level. The researchers noted that participants of Indian and Pakistani (2.08; 95% CI, 1.23-3.54) and African and Afro-Caribbean (OR = 2.24; 95% CI, 1.61-3.12) ethnicity had the highest odds for high mental well-being.

“It is commonly believed that Afro-Caribbean populations have a high level of mental illness,” Stewart-Brown told Healio.com/Psychiatry. “This study shows that these groups may also have a higher proportion of people with especially robust mental health.” – by Jeff Craven

Disclosure: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.