Direct and Indirect Pathways From Adverse Childhood Experiences to High School Dropout Among High‐Risk Adolescents

Abstract

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with an increased risk for school dropout. This study examined pathways from childhood adversity to school dropout through academic, behavioral, emotional, and social pathways. Data were collected prospectively from 728 adolescents and their caregivers who participated in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect and from child protective services records. Path analyses revealed a direct association between ACEs and dropout, as well as indirect effects through poor reading achievement and elevated externalizing problems. ACEs were associated with elevated internalizing problems, which were negatively associated with dropout. However, ACEs were not associated with peer influences. Implications of the identified mechanisms in the ACEs and school dropout association for future preventive interventions are discussed.

High School Dropout Rates of Japanese Youth in Residential Care: An Examination of Major Risk Factors

“…This deviation could be explained by the fact that this study sample consisted of older children. Previous studies suggest that childhood maltreatment was linked to an increased risk in school disengagement and failure [22,23]. In contrast, our analysis indicated that child maltreatment was not a risk factor for dropping out of high school.…”

The Effectiveness of Training and Supervising Urban Elementary School Teachers in Child–Teacher Relationship Training: A Trauma-Informed Approach

“…The number of children in the United States who have experienced at least one ACE is increasing (Steiner et al, 2012). These students often exhibit problematic behaviors (Morrow & Villodas, 2014) and teachers often lack the knowledge to effectively attend to their students’ social/emotional aspects (Jennings & Greenberg, 2009). Developing social/emotional skills through CTRT would allow teachers to positively impact students’ personal and academic development and boost their own commitment to the teaching profession.…”

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Timely Bachelor’s Degree Attainment

“…ACE studies looking into academic performance suggest that ACEs also adversely influence educational attainment, as do other research studies on cumulative risk, which have found a relationship between exposure to a greater number of childhood risk factors and fewer years of education (Horan and Widom 2015). Morrow and Villodas (2018) examined the cumulative effect of ACEs on the likelihood of dropping out of high school and found that an additional ACE increases the odds of dropping out of high school by 9%. They found that ACEs directly and indirectly affect high school dropout rates.…”

“…Research has found that academic achievement is linked to educational attainment, as educational attainment reflects the ability to excel academically and accumulate knowledge over time (Balfanz et al 2007;Morrow and Villodas 2018). Bethell et al (2014) found that there is lower school engagement among U.S. children with exposure to adverse childhood experiences.…”

“…Past research has linked ACEs to adult psychological well-being and substance abuse in young adulthood through various mechanisms such as stress and socio-emotional wellbeing. For instance, ACE research investigating dropping out of high school has found that reading achievement and externalizing problems are pathways through which ACEs are linked to dropping out of high school (Douglas et al 2010;Morrow and Villodas 2018;Nurius et al 2015). Less is known about the pathway through which ACEs may be operating in connection with educational attainment or if ACEs directly affect college attainment.…”