HEALTH-STATUS - DOES IT PREDICT CHOICE IN FURTHER EDUCATION

Study objective - To study the significance of a young person's health to his or her choice of further education at age 16. Design - A cross sectional population survey Setting - The whole of Finland. Participa nts - A representative sample of 2977 Finnish 16 year olds. The respon se rate was 83%. Measurements and main results - The three outcome var iables reflected successive steps on the way to educational success: s chool attendance after the completion of compulsory schooling, the typ e of school, and school achievement for those at school. Continuing th eir education and choosing upper secondary school were most typical of young people from upper social classes. Female gender and living with both parents increased the probability of choosing to go on to upper secondary school. Over and above these background variables, some heal th factors had additional explanatory power. Continuing their educatio n, attending upper secondary schools, and good achievement were typica l of those who considered their health to be good. Chronically ill ado lescents were more likely to continue their education than the healthy ones. Conclusions - School imposes great demands on young people, thu s revealing differences in personal health resources. Adaptation to th e norms of a society in which education is highly valued is related to satisfying health status. In a welfare state that offers equal educat ional opportunities for everyone, however, chronically ill adolescents can add to their resources for coping through schooling. Health relat ed selection thus works differently for various indicators of health a nd in various kinds of societies. Social class differences in health i n the future may be more dependent on personally experienced heath pro blems than on medically diagnosed diseases.