School-to-Work-Transition and Well-Being in Australia”,

The school-to-work- transition period is a demanding episode within the life course in all societies, as in the years of adolescence a sequence of severe and long-lasting decisions are to be made with respect to educational choice and getting integrated into the labour market (Ryan 2001). Failing within the educational process, becoming unemployed or starting the employment career in a precarious contract could take a negative impact on the future life-course. And that period of the life course is a sensitive time with regard to adolescences’’ developments and social relations (Mayer 2009). Well-being and mental health are possible outcomes (Schulenberg 2004), which themselves take impact on individuals further educational, labour market related and social life (Western & Tomaszewski 2016).

The Australian Hilda-data are employed to explore the relation of the school-to-work-transition period and individuals (subjective) wellbeing. HILDA is well established panel-survey running since 2001, which a set of health and wellbeing related questions in all waves.

A model-specific sample is drawn out of the HLDA-participants including 3.201 individuals, interviewed firstly as new HILDA-persons in the age of 15/16 and attended at least two consecutive waves in the HILDA survey. Thus 22.745 records (7.1 records per individual in average) are included in the models. A set of model-specific selectivity checks are performed, controlling for effect of wellbeing on panel participation. Both models controlling for characteristics at the first interview and models controlling for life course events indicate effects of wellbeing on individuals’ attrition rate, whilst well-known effects like educational attainment, experience of marginal employment drives attrition.

Specific attention is drawn on the relation of life satisfaction and the school to work transition, which is followed up to individuals age of 30. The results support an own standing effect of the school-to-work- transition on life satisfaction.