Depression is increasingly common in young people, affecting one tenth of 16-24 year-olds. This debilitating illness can result in children missing school, which may have a substantial impact on their school work and career prospects. In this study we want to find out if adolescents with depression are less likely to go to university and, if they do go, whether they do as well as their peers. We also want to find out whether they are less likely to be in education, employment or training at 20 years.

Our study will use data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a birth cohort study which has followed children born in the early 1990s to around 15,000 women living in the Bristol area. Information about the children has been collected regularly since birth using questionnaires and clinics and, more recently, through linking to government and routine health databases.

ALSPAC collected information on depression when the children were 16-18 years old. Information about university outcomes (enrolment, results) and later training and employment has been collected through questionnaires and by linking ALSPAC to the Higher Education Statistics Agency database.

We will use these data to find out:
1) Whether teenagers with depression are less likely (than those without depression) to go to university;
2) Among those who do go to university, are teenagers with depression less likely to achieve good results;
3) Whether teenagers with depression are less likely to be in education, employment or training at age 20.