Why do they leave? Why do they stay? A quantitative and qualitative examination of high school dropout.

Abstract

In today's social context, the consequences of leaving school without a diploma are more costly for individuals who drop out of school. The present dissertation was designed to further our understanding of dropout by going beyond previous research on the topic. Specifically, this dissertation uses a developmental-systems model of school dropout to examine a wide range of contextual, psychological, and behavioral variables relevant to adolescence, young adulthood, and early school leaving using a multi-method approach. High school record and survey data from 1833 graduates and dropouts were analyzed using hierarchical logistic regression analyses to determine the strongest predictors of early school leaving. In addition, intensive interviews with 14 young adult dropouts were analyzed for thematic content. Dropping out is associated with numerous struggles across social contexts and psychological domains, including past physical abuse, early marriage and parenthood, and academic difficulties. Interactions by gender, race, family income, and parent education were also found. Further, regardless of the type of risk factor, more risk factors also predict early school leaving. Implications of the results for dropout prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.