Early bad behaviour can freeze a young person out of the education or employment market, a new report has found.

A survey of 900 young people for the Princes Trust found nearly two thirds of 14 to 17 year-olds believed misbehaviour had already damaged their job prospects, while a lack of qualifications was cited by half the 18 to 21 year-olds as the reason they were out of work.

Of the young mothers interviewed, 43 per cent claimed that having children was preventing them from achieving their ambitions.

The report, supported by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, welcomed such initiatives as the New Deal for Young People, but argued that more needs to be done by the government to prevent social exclusion.

"This research not only shows that many of these young people are facing significant barriers, but - crucially - they aren't picked up soon enough, while there is a realistic prospect of getting their lives back on-track," said Princes Trust chief executive Sir Tom Shebbeare.

"These are the young people who have most to gain from a second chance in education or training, but society is failing to provide a viable route back in."

Shadow work and pensions secretary David Willetts described the report as "hard hitting".

"Not everyone will be able to accept its conclusions, but I hope that we can all agree on the analysis," he said.

"This report shows, as I argued last month, that there are nearly 1.2 million 16 to 24 year olds either unemployed or economically inactive."This is a disastrous social problem, which the government is ignoring because it is under the pretence that the New Deal is working."