Genetics, educational environments, and student mental health: causal links and long-term outcomes

Statistics for mental health in the UK portray a stark picture: about three children in every classroom have a diagnosable mental health problem. Mental health issues often emerge in early adolescence, with earlier symptoms typically leading to worse outcomes. The NHS reports that the crisis is growing, with 1 in 4 young people (aged 17-19) showing signs of mental disorder. However, effective, evidence-based interventions remain scarce. The crisis is likely to escalate, but the causes of mental health problems are not well understood. The current mental health crisis among young people calls for a paradigm shift toward identifying modifiable risk factors within their daily environments.
Risk factors for poor mental health are likely to be multifactorial, ranging from biological (genetic factors) to psychological (attitudes, subjective experiences) and environmental (home and school environments; broader society) influences. Among these, the school environment represents a particularly overlooked but critical setting for understanding the causes of mental health problems.

This project seeks to unlock the potential of the school environment in tackling the youth mental health crisis by using a longitudinal, genetically informed design to establish the causal links between school environments and mental health. Given that mental health problems are highly heritable, controlling for genetic confounding is essential for establishing causal relationships between the school environment and mental health.

The Student Advisory Board will contribute to all aspects of this project, ensuring that the research is informed by young people’s perspectives. Their input will shape the study design and interpretation of findings and guide the dissemination strategy. By embedding young people’s voices throughout, the project aims to stay aligned with the needs of those it seeks to benefit.