Exclusion From School Linked To Long-Term Mental Health Problems, study

UK: A study on thousands of children has shown that excluding children from school may condemn them to long term psychological distress.

The research by the University of Exeter analysed the responses of more than 5,000 children, their parents and teachers, which were taken from British Child and Adolescent Mental Health Surveys from 2004 and its follow up in 2007.

The study showed that exclusion can contribute to a range of mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety in the pupil while also increasing the behaviors that led to their exclusion.

Most of the students who get excluded are boys and those living in socio-economically deprived circumstances.

The research also "detected a bi-directional association between psychological distress and exclusion", implying that poor mental health can lead to school exclusion, too.

“Although an exclusion from school may only last for a day or two, the impact and repercussions for the child and parents are much wider,” said Claire Parker, one of the researchers. “Exclusion often marks a turning point during an ongoing difficult time for the child, parent and those trying to support the child in school.”

"Efforts to identify and support children who struggle with school may therefore prevent both future exclusion and future psychiatric disorder," the study concluded.