2.3 The relating to
consequences of school dropout and strategies to be taken
Personal and societal consequences of dropping out of school
are costly. Dropouts experience Dropouts are also more likely than graduates to
become dependent on welfare, engage in illegal activities, and experience
health and affective problems (Rumberger , 1987). Finally, high rates of
dropping out of school create a negative momentum for youth in a society,
particularly during difficult economic periods when even a high school diploma
does not guarantee a job. Such momentum may foster even higher dropout rate s
in the future.
Most studies that investigated the predictive variable s of
school dropout focused on personal (i.e... behavioral, academic, intellectual)
and familial factors. These studies found that an early disruptive profile
(Ensminge r & Slusarcick, 1992), low achievement in elementary school
(Garnie r et al., 1997), and parental support and supervision
(Howel l & Frese, 1982; Rumberger et al., 1990) predict
early withdrawal from school even after controlling for socioeconomic factors.
However, as underlined by Hymel et al. (1996), far less attention has been
given to the role of peers in contributing to school dropout. More than a
decade ago, Parker & Asher (1987) suggested that social factors may be
better estimates of leaving school without graduating for the majority of
dropouts with average or above intelligence than cognitive or parental factors.
The few studies that investigated the role of peers did so without considering
academic and familial factor s (e.g . Elliott & Voss,1974; Cairns et al.,
1989), however. Consequently, no study (to our knowledge) has considered the
contribution or the role of peer-related variables above and beyond personal
and familial variables in a comprehensive model intended to predict early
withdrawal from school.
Two peer variable s have been linked with dropping out of
school: rejection from conventional peers and association with deviant peers.
For instance, many children with disruptive behaviors experience peer rejection
(Coie , 1990). This is important in that peer rejection has been predictively
linked, in some, but not in all studies, to dropping out of school (se e Hymel
et al., 1996). In addition, many rejected children have no friends in the
classroom tha t might buffe r th e impact of negative social experiences at the
group level. Actually, lack of friend s may increase the risk for school
disengagement. Kupersmidt et al. (1990 ) suggested that rejection from peers
and lack of friend s exacerbated th e frustration s of low grades and
punishment fo r low achievement and increased adolescents ' motivation to leave
school prior to graduation . In support to this position, Kupersmidt (1983)
showed that peer status significantly predicted late r academic adjustment even
after controlling for sex, race, grade point average and child' s reputation
among peers for starting fights. However, in this study, academic maladjustment
included grade retention and truancy and no t jus t dropping out of school.
Ollendick et al. (1992) also reported that 9-year-old rejected children failed
more grades and were more likely to drop out of school 5 years late r than
non-rejected children. Consequently, these negative social experiences may
contribute to or mediate the link between disruptiveness and dropping out.
In addition to their independent or mediating role, peer
acceptance may also condition (i.e. moderate) the propensity of disruptive or
learning disabled children to drop out of school and help explain why some, but
not all at risk children dropout of school.
In turn, peer rejection might be moderated by parental
factors. For example,
Steinberg et al. (1992), showed that parental support for
academic attainment buffered children who were unpopular with their peers from
dropping out of school. However, it is also possible that social acceptance has
no independent contribution to dropping out of school as indicated by finding s
from Kupersmidt & Coie (1990 ) and
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