More is more: exploring the relationship between young people’s experiences of school-based career education, information, advice and guidance at age 14–16 and wider adult outcomes at age 21–22 in England

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographics and school attainment of sample.

Factor	Category	Number (%)
Ethnicity n = 7,521	White	5,974 (79.4%)
	Black	286 (3.8%)
	Asian, Chinese or East Asian	767 (10.2%)
	Other	494 (6.6%)
Gender n = 7,408	Man	2,739 (37.0%)
	Woman	4,529 (61.1%)
	Non-binary or other genders	140 (1.9%)
Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) n = 7,635	5th quintile – least deprived	1,205 (15.8%)
	4th quintile	1,336 (17.5%)
	3rd quintile	1,468 (19.2%)
	2nd quintile	1,663 (21.8%)
	1st quintile – most deprived	1,963 (25.7%)
School type (aged 14–16) n = 7,034	Independent	455 (6.5%)
	Comprehensive State School	5,878 (83.6%)
	Academically Selective	701 (10.0%)
School gender mix (aged 14–16) n = 7,579	Co-education School	6,569 (86.7%)
	Single-sex School	1,010 (13.3%)
Parents went to university n = 7,635	Neither parent	5,386 (70.5%)
	At least one parent	2,249 (29.5%)
Parents left school at 16 n = 7,635	Neither parent	5,427 (71.1%)
	At least one parent	2,208 (28.9%)
Highest GCSE maths grade n = 7,410	C grade or lower	3,588 (48.4%)
	A* - B grade	3,822 (51.6%)
Highest GCSE science grade n = 7,221	C grade or lower	2,878 (39.9%)
	A* - B grade	4,343 (60.1%)
Took any A Levels n = 7,635	Yes	4,092 (53.6%)
	No	3,543 (46.4%)

Table 2. Summaries of depth of participation and % of helpful activities.

Variable	Category	Number (%)	Cumulative percentage
Depth of participation, n = 7,633	0	236 (3.1%)	3.1%
	1	321 (4.2%)	7.3%
	2	497 (6.5%)	13.8%
	3	642 (8.4%)	22.2%
	4	719 (9.4%)	31.6%
	5	684 (9.0%)	40.6%
	6	617 (8.1%)	48.7%
	7	695 (9.1%)	57.8%
	8	3,222 (42.2%)	100.0%
Percentage of helpfulactivities (to nearest 20%), n = 7,397	0%	1,357 (18.3%)	18.3%
	1% − 20%	592 (8.0%)	26.3%
	21% − 40%	1,337 (18.1%)	44.4%
	41% − 60%	1,188 (16.1%)	60.5%
	61% − 80%	1,333 (18.0%)	78.5%
	81% − 100%	1,590 (21.5%)	100.0%

Table 3. Summary of outcome variables.

Factor	Category	Number (%)
Future outlook, n = 4,341	Negative outlook	1,955 (45.0%)
	Positive outlook	2,386 (55.0%)
School prepared you for adult working life, n = 7,535	Very well	488 (6.5%)
	Well	2,208 (29.3%)
	Quite poorly	3,169 (42.1%)
	Very poorly	1,670 (22.2%)
Life satisfaction, n = 7,627	Low	1,492 (19.6%)
	Medium	2,470 (32.4%)
	High	2,869 (37.6%)
	Very High	796 (10.4%)
Education/working status, n = 7,635	Working	4,373 (57.3%)
	Education/Apprenticeship	2,112 27.7%)
	NEET	1,150 (15.5%)
Income, n = 3,972	£14,999 and under	1,124 (28.3%)
	£15,000 - £19,999	1,099 (27.7%)
	£20,000 - £24,999	950 (23.9%)
	£25,000 - £29,999	480 (12.1%)
	£30,000+	319 (8.0%)
Overall job satisfaction, n = 4,365	Not at all satisfied	201 (4.6%)
	Very dissatisfied	433 (9.9%)
	Dissatisfied	609 (14.0%)
	Moderately satisfied	762 (17.5%)
	Satisfied	1,200 (27.5%)
	Very satisfied	1,160 (26.6%)

Table 4. Regression analysis of factors associated with a positive future prospects and positive perceptions of school preparedness.

	Model 1: Positive future outlook		Model 2: Positive perceptions ofschool preparedness
Category (Reference)	Odds ratio(95% CI)	P-value	Odds ratio(95% CI)	P-value
Percentage helpful CEAIG activities (Odds ratio given for a 20% increase in percentage helpful activities)		< 0.001		< 0.001
	1.23*** (1.17, 1.27)		1.35*** (1.31, 1.40)
Number CEAIG activities (Odds ratio given for each additional number of CEAIG activities)		< 0.001
	1.08*** (1.04, 1.11)		1.09 (1.06, 1.12)	<0.001
Gender (Man)		< 0.001		< 0.001
Woman	0.57*** (.49, .65)		0.79*** (.71, .89)
Non-binary or other genders	0.32*** (.18, .54)		0.98 (.64, 1.50)
Ethnicity (White)		< 0.001		.805
Black	1.55* (1.04, 2.27)		0.88 (.65, 1.18)
Asian	0.74* (.57, .94)		0.96 (.80, 1.16)
Other	0.84 (.64, 1.11)		1.03 (.82, 1.28)
Highest science GCSE grade (A*-B)		.320		.747
C or Lower	0.91 (.76, 1.09)		1.02 (.89, 1.18)
Highest maths GCSE grade (A*-B)		.041		.794
C or Lower	0.83* (.70, .98)		1.02 (.89, 1.17)
Took any A Levels (Yes)		.870		.105
No	0.99 (.84, 1.15)		0.90 (.80, 1.02)
School type (Independent school)		.971		< 0.001
Comprehensive school	0.97 (.73, 1.30)		0.50*** (.40, .63)
Academically selective	0.96 (.68, 1.38)		0.68** (.52, .89)
School gender mix (Single-sex school)		.719		.586
Co-education school	1.04 (.83, 1.30)		0.95 (.80, 1.13)
Parents attended university (At least one parent)		.628		.421
Neither parent	1.04 (.89, 1.22)		0.95 (.84, 1.08)
Parents left school by 16 (Neither parent)		.650		< 0.01
At least one parent	1.04 (.89, 1.21)		0.83** (.74, .94)
Index of Multiple Deprivation (5th quintile – least deprived)		.139		.044
4th quintile	1.04 (.83, 1.30)		0.95 (.79, 1.14)
3rd quintile	1.01 (.81, 1.26)		1.05 (.88, 1.26)
2nd quintile	0.86 (.69, 1.08)		0.97 (.81, 1.16)
1st quintile – most deprived	0.82 (.66, 1.02)		1.21* (1.01, 1.44)
Log likelihood	4715.98		7538.53
Cox & Snell r-squared	0.07		0.08
N	3,610		6,180

Statistical significance is noted by *** for p < 0.001, ** for p < 0.01, * for p < 0.05, and + for p < 0.10.

Table 5. Regression analysis of factors associated with life satisfaction.

	Medium vs Low life satisfaction		High vs Low life satisfaction	Very high vs Low life satisfaction
Category (Reference)	Odds ratio (95% CI)		Odds ratio (95% CI)	Odds ratio (95% CI)	p
Percentage helpful CEAIG activities (Odds ratio given for a 20% increase in percentage helpful activities)					<0.001
	1.07** (1.02, 1.11)		1.19*** (1.14, 1.24)	1.30*** (1.22, 1.38)
Number CEAIG activities (Odds ratio given for each additional number of CEAIG activities)					<0.001
	1.06*** (1.03, 1.09)		1.07*** (1.04, 1.11)	1.10*** (1.05, 1.16)
Gender (Man)					<0.001
Woman		1.11 (0.95, 1.29)	1.02 (0.88, 1.19)	0.23+ (0.09, 0.61)
Non-binary or other genders		0.57* (0.36, 0.92)	0.31*** (0.19, 0.52)	0.23** (0.09, 0.61)
Ethnicity (White)					<0.001
Black		0.71+ (0.50, 1.01)	0.45*** (0.31, 0.65)	0.75+ (0.53, 1.06)
Asian		0.87 (0.68, 1.11)	0.72* (0.57, 0.93)	0.75 (0.53, 1.06)
Other		0.71* (0.54, 0.93)	0.55*** (0.41, 0.72)	0.58* (0.39, 0.88)
Highest science GCSE grade (A*-B)					0.01
C or Lower		0.81* (0.67, 0.98)	0.74** (0.61, 0.88)	0.96 (0.74, 1.24)
Highest maths GCSE grade (A*-B)					<0.01
C or Lower		0.91 (0.76, 1.10)	0.75** (0.63, 0.90)	0.71** (0.55, 0.91)
Took any A Levels (Yes)					<0.01
No		0.81* (0.69, 0.95)	0.74*** (0.63, 0.87)	0.94 (0.75, 1.19)
School type (Independent school)					0.01
Comprehensive school		0.67* (0.46, 0.99)	0.62* (0.43, 0.90)	0.41*** (0.26, 0.64)
Academically selective		0.63* (0.41, 0.98)	0.54** (0.36, 0.83)	0.47** (0.28, 0.80)
School gender mix (Single-sex School)					0.46
Co-education school		0.85 (0.67, 1.08)	0.88 (0.69, 1.12)	1.00 (0.72, 1.40)
Parents attended university (At least one parent)					0.05
Neither parent		1.12 (0.94, 1.33)	0.93 (0.79, 1.09)	1.08 (0.86, 1.37)
Parents left school by 16 (Neither parent)					0.06
At least one parent		0.86+ (0.74, 1.01)	0.84* (0.72, 0.98)	0.75* (0.60, 0.95)
Index of Multiple Deprivation (5th quintile – least deprived)					0.01
4th quintile		1.12 (0.86, 1.44)	0.95 (0.75, 1.22)	0.85+ (0.61, 1.20)
3rd quintile		1.22 (0.94, 1.57)	0.97 (0.76, 1.23)	1.19 (0.84, 1.67)
2nd quintile		1.15 (0.90, 1.46)	0.85 (0.67, 1.08)	1.04 (0.74, 1.46)
1st quintile – most deprived		1.05 (0.83, 1.34)	0.76* (0.60, 0.96)	0.85 (0.61, 1.20)
Log likelihood		13,552.70
Cox & Snell R-square		0.07
N		6,253

Statistical significance is noted by *** for p < 0.001, ** for p < 0.01, * for p < 0.05, and + for p < 0.10.

Table 6. Regression analysis of factors associated with education/working status.

Category (Reference)	Working vs NEET	Education/Apprenticeship vs NEET	p
	Odds ratio (95% CI)	Odds ratio (95% CI)
Percentage helpful CEAIG activities (Odds ratio given for a 20% increase in percentage helpful activities)			<0.001
	1.10*** (1.05, 1.15)	1.08** (1.03, 1.13)
Number CEAIG activities (Odds ratio given for each additional number of CEAIG activities)			<0.01
	1.04* (1.01, 1.08)	1.08*** (1.04, 1.12)
Gender (Man)			0.01
Woman	0.95 (0.81, 1.13)	1.04 (0.87, 1.25)
Non-binary or other genders	0.52* (0.30, 0.91)	1.07 (0.60, 1.90)
Ethnicity (White)			<0.001
Black	0.87 (0.56, 1.36)	1.87** (1.18, 2.97)
Asian	0.61** (0.46, 0.81)	1.80*** (1.35, 2.39)
Other	0.54*** (0.40, 0.73)	1.06 (0.78, 1.46)
Highest science GCSE grade (A*-B)			<0.001
C or Lower	0.75** (0.61, 0.91)	0.61*** (0.49, 0.77)
Highest maths GCSE grade (A*-B)			<0.001
C or Lower	0.83+ (0.68, 1.01)	0.56*** (0.45, 0.70)
Took any A Levels (Yes)			<0.001
No	0.88 (0.74, 1.05)	0.52*** (0.43, 0.63)
School type (Independent school)			<0.01
Comprehensive school	1.87*** (1.33, 2.62)	1.36+ (0.95, 1.93)
Academically selective	1.61* (1.07, 2.42)	1.23 (0.80, 1.89)
School gender mix (Single-sex school)			0.69
Co-education school	1.08 (0.83, 1.39)	1.00 (0.76, 1.31)
Parents attended university (At least one parent)			<0.001
Neither parent	0.88 (0.73, 1.07)	0.66*** (0.54, 0.81)
Parents left school by 16 (Neither parent)			0.30
At least one parent	1.11 (0.93, 1.32)	1.02 (0.84, 1.24)
Index of Multiple Deprivation (5th quintile – least deprived)			<0.001
4th quintile	0.93 (0.70, 1.25)	0.96 (0.70, 1.31)
3rd quintile	0.94 (0.70, 1.25)	0.90 (0.66, 1.23)
2nd quintile	0.75* (0.57, 0.99)	0.70* (0.52, 0.94)
1st quintile – most deprived	0.59*** (0.45, 0.76)	0.61** (0.46, 0.81)
Log likelihood	9516.98
Cox & Snell R square	0.11
N	6,256

Statistical significance is noted by *** for p < 0.001, ** for p < 0.01, * for p < 0.05, and + for p < 0.10.

Table 7. Regression analysis of factors associated with income.

Category (Reference)	£15,000-£20,000 vs Under £15,000	£20,000-£25,000 vs Under £15,000	£25,000-£30,000 vs Under £15,000	Over £30,000 vs Under £15,000	p
	Odds ratio (95% CI)	Odds ratio (95% CI)	Odds ratio (95% CI)	Odds ratio (95% CI)
Percentage helpful CEAIG activities (Odds ratio given for a 20% increase in percentage helpful activities)					0.14
	1.04 (0.99, 1.10)	1.07* (1.02, 1.14)	1.06 (0.99, 1.14)	1.07 (0.98, 1.16)
Number CEAIG activities (Odds ratio given for each additional number of CEAIG activities)					0.17
	1.04+ (1.00, 1.08)	1.02 (0.98, 1.07)	1.06* (1.00, 1.12)	1.06+ (0.99, 1.12)
Gender (Man)					<0.001
Woman	0.91 (0.74, 1.11)	0.68*** (0.55, 0.83)	0.52*** (0.41, 0.67)	0.20*** (0.15, 0.26)
Non-binary or other genders	0.42+ (0.17, 1.04)	0.61 (0.28, 1.32)	0.00 (0.00, 0.00)	0.32* (0.10, 0.99)
Ethnicity (White)					0.03
Black	0.47* (0.25, 0.89)	0.92 (0.53, 1.59)	0.78 (0.39, 1.59)	1.45 (0.70, 3.02)
Asian	0.83 (0.55, 1.24)	0.65+ (0.42, 1.01)	1.10 (0.69, 1.76)	1.38 (0.81, 2.38)
Other	0.70+ (0.46, 1.06)	0.66+ (0.43, 1.02)	0.65 (0.38, 1.11)	0.87 (0.48, 1.57)
Highest science GCSE grade (A*-B)					<0.001
C or Lower	1.00 (0.79, 1.25)	0.73** (0.58, 0.92)	0.52*** (0.38, 0.71)	0.51** (0.35, 0.75)
Highest maths GCSE grade (A*-B)					<0.001
C or Lower	0.98 (0.78, 1.22)	0.82+ (0.65, 1.03)	0.52*** (0.39, 0.70)	0.45*** (0.32, 0.65)
Took any A Levels (Yes)					0.03
No	1.19+ (0.97, 1.46)	0.95 (0.77, 1.17)	0.88 (0.68, 1.15)	1.34+ (0.98, 1.82)
School type (Independent school)					0.11
Comprehensive school	1.61+ (0.99, 2.62)	1.14 (0.73, 1.79)	1.88* (1.08, 3.29)	0.92 (0.52, 1.64)
Academically selective	1.53 (0.87, 2.69)	1.02 (0.60, 1.76)	1.56 (0.81, 2.98)	1.37 (0.69, 2.69)
School gender mix (Single-sex school)					0.12
Co-education school	0.95 (0.68, 1.31)	1.13 (0.80, 1.58)	0.67* (0.46, 0.98)	0.98 (0.62, 1.55)
Parents attended university (At least one parent)					0.76
Neither parent	1.05 (0.84, 1.31)	1.10 (0.88, 1.37)	0.93 (0.71, 1.21)	1.00 (0.73, 1.36)
Parents left school by 16 (Neither parent)					0.86
At least one parent	1.04 (0.85, 1.28)	1.12 (0.91, 1.38)	1.01 (0.78, 1.31)	1.02 (0.75, 1.39)
Index of Multiple Deprivation (5th quintile – least deprived)					<0.001
4th quintile	0.99 (0.72, 1.37)	1.16 (0.84, 1.61)	0.81 (0.56, 1.18)	1.10 (0.72, 1.68)
3rd quintile	1.01 (0.74, 1.38)	1.04 (0.75, 1.42)	0.76 (0.53, 1.10)	0.67+ (0.43, 1.05)
2nd quintile	0.81 (0.60, 1.10)	0.94 (0.69, 1.28)	0.66* (0.46, 0.96)	0.69+ (0.45, 1.06)
1st quintile – most deprived	0.83 (0.62, 1.12)	0.70* (0.51, 0.96)	0.47*** (0.32, 0.69)	0.34*** (0.21, 0.55)
Log likelihood	9102.72
Cox & Snell R square	0.13
N	3,387

Statistical significance is noted by *** for p < 0.001, ** for p < 0.01, * for p < 0.05, and + for p < 0.10.

Table 8. Regression analysis of factors associated with job satisfaction.

	Very dissatisfied vs not at all satisfied	Dissatisfied vs not at all satisfied	Moderately satisfied vs not at all satisfied	Satisfied vs not at all satisfied	Very satisfied vs vot at all satisfied
Category (Reference)	Odds ratio (95% CI)	Odds ratio (95% CI)	Odds ratio (95% CI)	Odds ratio (95% CI)	Odds ratio (95% CI)	p
Percentage helpful CEAIG activities (Odds ratio given for a 20% increase in percentage helpful activities)						<0.001
	0.92 (0.82, 1.04)	1.02 (0.91, 1.13)	1.06 (0.95, 1.18)	1.17** (1.05, 1.29)	1.32*** (1.18, 1.46)
Number CEAIG activities (Odds ratio given for each additional number of CEAIG activities)						<0.001
	0.98 (0.90, 1.06)	0.91* (0.84, 0.99)	0.98 (0.90, 1.06)	0.98 (0.91, 1.06)	1.07 (0.99, 1.16)
Gender (Man)						0.39
Woman	1.46+ (0.98, 2.18)	1.41+ (0.96, 2.08)	1.37 (0.94, 1.99)	1.44* (1.00, 2.07)	1.24 (0.86, 1.78)
Non-binary or other genders	0.32 (0.07, 1.49)	0.44 (0.12, 1.64)	0.56 (0.17, 1.90)	0.65 (0.21, 2.04)	0.40 (0.12, 1.38)
Ethnicity (White)						0.60
Black	1.19 (0.44, 3.21)	1.03 (0.39, 2.71)	0.85 (0.33, 2.20)	0.59 (0.23, 1.53)	0.77 (0.31, 1.95)
Asian	1.45 (0.60, 3.52)	1.38 (0.58, 3.25)	1.64 (0.71, 3.77)	1.35 (0.60, 3.05)	1.17 (0.51, 2.66)
Other	1.83 (0.73, 4.61)	1.41 (0.57, 3.53)	1.28 (0.52, 3.15)	1.38 (0.58, 3.29)	1.04 (0.43, 2.52)
Highest science GCSE grade (A*-B)						0.84
C or Lower	1.02 (0.63, 1.65)	1.02 (0.64, 1.62)	0.89 (0.57, 1.41)	0.88 (0.57, 1.37)	0.89 (0.57, 1.38)
Highest maths GCSE grade (A*-B)						0.05
C or Lower	0.98 (0.61, 1.59)	0.76 (0.48, 1.21)	0.92 (0.59, 1.45)	0.83 (0.54, 1.29)	0.66+ (0.43, 1.03)
Took any A Levels (Yes)						0.69
No	0.94 (0.61, 1.44)	0.84 (0.56, 1.28)	0.78 (0.52, 1.17)	0.83 (0.56, 1.23)	0.91 (0.61, 1.34)
School type (Independent school)						0.41
Comprehensive school	0.97 (0.35, 2.71)	0.69 (0.27, 1.79)	0.73 (0.29, 1.84)	0.84 (0.34, 2.07)	1.02 (0.41, 2.54)
Academically selective	1.60 (0.47, 5.48)	1.18 (0.37, 3.75)	0.85 (0.27, 2.64)	1.23 (0.41, 3.69)	1.77 (0.59, 5.34)
School gender mix (Single-sex school)						0.33
Co-education school	1.31 (0.68, 2.52)	1.52 (0.80, 2.87)	1.46 (0.79, 2.72)	1.33 (0.73, 2.40)	1.07 (0.59, 1.92)
Parents attended university (At least one parent)						0.65
Neither parent	1.19 (0.76, 1.87)	1.18 (0.77, 1.81)	1.04 (0.68, 1.57)	1.25 (0.84, 1.88)	1.15 (0.77, 1.73)
Parents left school by 16 (Neither parent)						0.17
At least one parent	1.09 (0.71, 1.68)	1.12 (0.74, 1.70)	1.38 (0.92, 2.06)	1.06 (0.71, 1.57)	1.05 (0.71, 1.56)
Index of Multiple Deprivation (5th quintile – least deprived)						0.52
4th quintile	1.18 (0.58, 2.42)	1.32 (0.66, 2.64)	1.41 (0.72, 2.77)	1.11 (0.58, 2.12)	1.39 (0.73, 2.68)
3rd quintile	0.68 (0.36, 1.30)	0.83 (0.45, 1.53)	0.88 (0.48, 1.60)	0.67 (0.38, 1.20)	0.77 (0.43, 1.37)
2nd quintile	1.02 (0.54, 1.92)	0.93 (0.50, 1.73)	0.91 (0.50, 1.66)	0.75 (0.42, 1.34)	0.80 (0.44, 1.43)
1st quintile – most deprived	0.98 (0.52, 1.87)	1.04 (0.56, 1.94)	0.92 (0.50, 1.69)	0.69 (0.39, 1.24)	0.82 (0.45, 1.47)
Log likelihood	10,771.60
Cox & Snell R square	0.08
N	3,656

Statistical significance is noted by *** for p < 0.001, ** for p < 0.01, * for p < 0.05, and + for p < 0.10.