Truancy Reduction: Keeping Students in School

Truancy, or unexcused absence from school, has been linked to serious delinquent activity in youth and to significant negative behavior and characteristics in adults.1 As a risk factor for delinquent behavior in youth, truancy has been found to be related to substance abuse, gang activity, and involvement in criminal activities such as burglary, auto theft, and vandalism (Bell, Rosen, and Dynlacht, 1994; Dryfoos, 1990; Garry, 1996; Huizinga, Loeber, and Thornberry, 1995; Rohrman, 1993). Much of the work in the area of developmental pathways to delinquency shows that these behavioral problems often are followed by progressively more serious behavioral and adjustment problems in adulthood, including an increased propensity for violent behavior (Bell, Rosen, and Dynlacht, 1994; Dryfoos, 1990; Kelley et al., 1997). Further, adults who were frequently truant as teenagers are much more likely than those who were not to have poorer health and mental health, lower paying jobs, an increased chance of living in poverty, more reliance on welfare support, children who exhibit problem behaviors, and an increased likelihood of incarceration (Bell, Rosen, and Dynlacht, 1994; Dryfoos, 1990; Hawkins and Catalano, 1995; Ingersoll and LeBoeuf, 1997; Rohrman, 1993).

Source:

Baker, M.L. 2000. Evaluation of the Truancy Reduction Demonstration Program: Interim Report. Denver, CO: Colorado Foundation for Families and Children. Bell, A.J., Rosen, L.A., and Dynlacht, D. 1994. 

Truancy intervention. The Journal of Research and Development in Education 57(3):203–211. Bernat, F.P. 1996. Survey Evaluation for the Governor’s Division for Children: State Truancies and Unexcused Absences. Final Report. Phoenix, AZ: Governor’s Division for Children. 

Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2001. A Profile of the Working Poor, 1999. Report 947. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Catalano, F.R., Arthur, M.W., Hawkins, J.D., Berglund, L., and Olson, J.J. 1998. Comprehensive community- and school-based interventions to prevent antisocial behavior. In Serious and Violent Juvenile Offenders: Risk Factors and Successful Interventions, edited by R. Loeber and D. Farrington. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Dryfoos, J.G. 1990.

 Adolescents at Risk: Prevalence and Prevention. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.