The Effect of School Suspensions and Arrests on Subsequent Adolescent Antisocial Behavior in Australia and the United States

Hemphill, Sheryl A.; Toumbourou, John W.; Herrenkohl, Todd I.; McMorris, Barbara J.; Catalano, Richard F.

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2006.05.010

« Previous Next »Journal of Adolescent Health
Volume 39, Issue 5 , Pages 736-744, November 2006

The Effect of School Suspensions and Arrests on Subsequent Adolescent Antisocial Behavior in Australia and the United States

Sheryl A. Hemphill, Ph.D.
- Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, The University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics, Royal Children's Hospital, Victoria, Australia
- Address correspondence to: Dr. Sheryl A. Hemphill, Centre for Adolescent Health, 2 Gatehouse Street, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
John W. Toumbourou, Ph.D.
- Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, The University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics, Royal Children's Hospital, Victoria, Australia
Todd I. Herrenkohl, Ph.D.
- Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Barbara J. McMorris, Ph.D.
- Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Richard F. Catalano, Ph.D.
- Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

Accepted 16 May 2006. published online 10 July 2006.

Abstract

Purpose

To examine the effect of school suspensions and arrests (i.e., being taken into police custody) on subsequent adolescent antisocial behavior such as violence and crime, after controlling for established risk and protective factors in Victoria, Australia and Washington State, United States (U.S.).

Methods

This article reports on analyses of two points of data collected 1 year apart within a cross-national longitudinal study of the development of antisocial behavior, substance use, and related behaviors in approximately 4000 students aged 12 to 16 years in Victoria, Australia and Washington State, U.S. Students completed a modified version of the Communities That Care self-report survey of behavior, as well as risk and protective factors across five domains (individual, family, peer, school, and community). Multivariate logistic regression analyses investigate the effect of school suspensions and arrests on subsequent antisocial behavior, holding constant individual, family, peer, school, and community level influences such as being female, student belief in the moral order, emotional control, and attachment to mother.

Results

At the first assessment, school suspensions and arrests were more commonly reported in Washington, and school suspensions significantly increased the likelihood of antisocial behavior 12 months later, after holding constant established risk and protective factors (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1–2.1, p < .05). Predictors of antisocial behavior spanned risk and protective factors across five individual and ecological areas of risk. Risk factors in this study were pre-existing antisocial behavior (OR 3.6, CI 2.7–4.7, p < .001), association with antisocial peers (OR 1.8, CI 1.4–2.4, p < .001), academic failure (OR 1.3, CI 1.1–1.5, p < .01), and perceived availability of drugs in the community (OR 1.3, CI 1.1–1.5, p < .001). Protective factors included being female (OR 0.7, CI 0.5–0.9, p < .01), student belief in the moral order (OR 0.8, CI 0.6–1.0, p < .05), student emotional control (OR 0.7, CI 0.6–0.8, p < .001), and attachment to mother (OR 0.8, CI 0.7–1.0, p < .05).

Conclusions

School suspensions may increase the likelihood of future antisocial behavior. Further research is required to both replicate this finding and establish the mechanisms by which school suspensions exert their effects.

Keywords: Adolescence, Antisocial behavior, Risk factors, Protective factors, Sanctions, Predictors, Youth