A Public Health Perspective on School Dropout and Adult Outcomes: A Prospective Study of Risk and Protective Factors from Age 5 to 27

Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to advance a public health perspective on links between education and health by examining risk and protective factors that might alter the relation between dropping out of high school and subsequent negative outcomes.

Methods

A community sample (N = 585) was followed from age 5 to 27. Data included self and parent reports, peer sociometric nominations, and observed mother-teen interactions.

Results

High school dropouts were up to four times more likely to experience individual negative outcomes (being arrested, fired, or on government assistance, using illicit substances, having poor health) by age 27 and twenty-four times more likely compared to graduates to experience as many as four or more negative outcomes. Links between dropout and negative outcomes were more pronounced for individuals who were in low SES families at age 5, rejected by elementary school peers, and became parents at a younger age; the dropout effect was decreased for individuals who had been treated for a behavioral, emotional, or drug problem by age 24.

Conclusions

Addressing school dropout as a public health problem has the potential to improve the lives of dropouts and reduce societal costs of dropping out.