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Changes in children's well-being and mental health across the early school years: Links with academic and social competence.

Rory T. Devine; Louise Gray; Miryam Edwards; Mikeda Jess; Caoimhe Dempsey; Jean Heng; Mishika Mehrotra; Hana D’Souza; Elian Fink; Claire Hughes

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Title: Changes in children's well-being and mental health across the early school years: Links with academic and social competence.
Author: Rory T. Devine; Louise Gray; Miryam Edwards; Mikeda Jess; Caoimhe Dempsey; Jean Heng; Mishika Mehrotra; Hana D’Souza; Elian Fink; Claire Hughes
Source: Developmental Psychology · DOI 10.1037/dev0001962 Published 2025-04-10 · Open source record
License: CC BY 4.0 deed

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The aim of the present study was to examine the relation between children’s well-being and mental health in the early years of primary school and the developmental association between well-being and mental health and children’s early social and academic skills. Two hundred fifty-two children (131 girls, Mage = 5.40 years, 80% White) and their caregivers (89.8% mothers) from the United Kingdom participated in a 1-year longitudinal study. Children completed measures of well-being, cognitive, and academic skills. Caregivers provided ratings of children’s well-being and mental health. Teachers and caregivers rated children’s social competence. Measurement models showed that well-being and mental health were distinct constructs at both time points. There were moderate levels of rank-order stability in well-being but declines in average levels of well-being with a corresponding increase in mental health difficulties. Well-being and mental health exhibited differential associations with social competence and academic performance. Initial levels of mental health predicted later academic and social competence, while gains in well-being were associated with academic skills and social competence. Public Significance Statement Drawing on children’s and caregivers’ perspectives on children’s happiness at school, this study tracked 252 5-year-old children and their caregivers over 1 year and demonstrated that happiness is distinct from the absence of mental health difficulties. Children’s and their caregivers’ ratings of children’s happiness became more aligned over time, and these ratings revealed that average levels of happiness declined in the early stages of primary school. Mental health difficulties at the start of the study predicted poorer academic and social outcomes 1 year later, while gains in happiness over time were associated with better academic and social outcomes.

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Original journal: Developmental Psychology
Published: 2025-04-10
DOI: 10.1037/dev0001962
Open record: PMC12243392

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