Predicting different types of school dropouts: A typological approach with two longitudinal samples.

Despite evidence of the psychosocial heterogeneity of school dropouts, empirical studies have rarely directly addressed this issue. The general goal of this research was to explore the heuristic value of a typological approach for preventing and studying school dropout. The specific objectives were to build empirically a typology of dropouts based on individual school experience, to test the typology's reliability by replicating the classification with two different longitudinal samples, and to examine the typology's predictive and discriminant validity. The results led to a 4-type solution: Quiet, Disengaged, Low-Achiever, and Maladjusted dropouts. The results support the internal and external validity of the typology and highlight important different profiles with regard to personal and social risk factors. The discussion underscores the theoretical and clinical utility of a typological approach by assisting the study of the different paths in the etiology of school dropout and the adoption of a differential prevention strategy.

[1]  S. Dornbusch,et al.  Family Influences on Dropout Behavior in One California High School. , 1990 .

[2]  T. Hirschi.  Causes of Delinquency. , 1970, British medical journal.

[3]  Kathryn R. Wentzel,et al.  Social motivation: Frontmatter , 1996 .

[4]  T. Moffitt.  Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: a developmental taxonomy. , 1993, Psychological review.

[5]  R. Forehand,et al.  Adolescent school performance following parental divorce: are there family factors that can enhance success? , 1989, Adolescence.

[6]  G. Elliott,et al.  At the Threshold: The Developing Adolescent , 1990 .

[7]  Stephen D. Gottfredson,et al.  Prediction: An Overview of Selected Methodological Issues , 1987, Crime and Justice.

[8]  J. Hackman,et al.  Commitment to college as a factor in student attrition , 1970 .

[9]  The Boston Compact , 1987 .

[10]  D. Gleeson.  School Attendance and Truancy: A Socio-Historical Account , 1992 .

[11]  James F. Wilson.  Drugs and Crime , 1990, Crime and Justice.

[12]  Y. Hser,et al.  Treatment of Drug Abuse , 1990, Crime and Justice.

[13]  H. Quay.  Patterns of delinquent behavior. , 1987 .

[14]  S. Menard.  Applied Logistic Regression Analysis , 1996 .

[15]  G. Jarjoura.  The Conditional Effect of Social Class on the Dropout-Delinquency Relationship , 1996 .

[16]  P. MacNaughton-Smith.  Some statistical and other numerical techniques for classifying individuals , 1966 .

[17]  T. P. Thornberry,et al.  Developmental theories of crime and delinquency , 1997 .

[18]  J. Fagan,et al.  Contributions of Delinquency and Substance Use to School Dropout among Inner-City Youths , 1990 .

[19]  J. Hawkins.  Delinquency and crime : current theories , 1996 .

[20]  Anthony S. Bryk,et al.  The Effects of High School Organization on Dropping Out: An Exploratory Investigation , 1989 .

[21]  D. Farrington,et al.  Serious and Violent Juvenile Offenders: Risk Factors and Successful Interventions , 1999 .

[22]  Richard F. Catalano,et al.  The social development model: A theory of antisocial behavior. , 1996 .

[23]  R. Barkley,et al.  Treatment of childhood disorders , 1998 .

[24]  R. Silbereisen,et al.  Adolescence in context: The interplay of family, school, peers, and work in adjustment. , 1994 .

[25]  R. Tidwell.  Dropouts speak out: qualitative data on early school departures. , 1988, Adolescence.

[26]  Delbert S. Elliott,et al.  Delinquency and dropout , 1974 .

[27]  L. Steinberg,et al.  Dropping Out Among Language Minority Youth , 1984 .

[28]  R Kosterman,et al.  Changing teaching practices to promote achievement and bonding to school. , 1998, The American journal of orthopsychiatry.

[29]  Richard E. Tremblay,et al.  Patterns of Boys' Social Adjustment in Two Cultures and at Different Ages: A Longitudinal Perspective , 1992 .

[30]  J. Finn.  Withdrawing From School , 1989 .

[31]  E. Mash.  Treatment of child and family disturbance: A behavioral-systems perspective. , 1989 .

[32]  David P. Farrington,et al.  Predicting Individual Crime Rates , 1987, Crime and Justice.

[33]  L. Steinberg,et al.  Authoritative parenting, psychosocial maturity, and academic success among adolescents. , 1989, Child development.

[34]  Vincent Tinto.  Dropout from Higher Education: A Theoretical Synthesis of Recent Research , 1975 .

[35]  Evelyne F. Vallières,et al.  Adolescents' School Experience and Self-Reported Offending: An Empirical Elaboration of an Interactional and Developmental School Social Control Theory , 1992 .

[36]  G. Jarjoura.  DOES DROPPING OUT OF SCHOOL ENHANCE DELINQUENT INVOLVEMENT? RESULTS FROM A LARGE‐SCALE NATIONAL PROBABILITY SAMPLE* , 1993 .

[37]  R. Rumberger.  High School Dropouts: A Review of Issues and Evidence , 1987 .

[38]  Tim Brennan,et al.  Classification: An Overview of Selected Methodological Issues , 1987, Crime and Justice.

[39]  Russell W. Rumberger,et al.  Dropping Out of Middle School: A Multilevel Analysis of Students and Schools , 1995 .

[40]  J. Durlak.  School-Based Prevention Programs for Children and Adolescents , 1995 .

[41]  J. Bachman,et al.  Dropping out -- problem or symptom? , 1971 .

[42]  Mark W. Lipsey,et al.  Effective intervention for serious juvenile offenders: A synthesis of research. , 1998 .

[43]  L.M. Tesseneer.  Review of the Literature on School Dropouts , 1958 .

[44]  R. Tremblay,et al.  Disentangling the Weight of School Dropout Predictors: A Test on Two Longitudinal Samples , 1997 .

[45]  Francis L. Bacon,et al.  National Association of Secondary-School Principals , 1942 .

[46]  Herbert C. Quay,et al.  Handbook of juvenile delinquency. , 1987 .

[47]  K. Schonert-Reichl,et al.  Social motivation: Academic failure and school dropout: The influence of peers , 1996 .

[48]  R B Cairns,et al.  Early school dropout: configurations and determinants. , 1989, Child development.

[49]  Russell W. Rumberger,et al.  Dropping Out of High School: The Influence of Race, Sex, and Family Background , 1983 .

[50]  C. Gerhardt,et al.  Adolescent development: pathways and processes of risk and resilience. , 1995, Annual review of psychology.

[51]  G. Patterson,et al.  A performance model for academic achievement in early adolescent boys. , 1993 .