Date of Award

1997

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

John Northup

Abstract

Data were collected from a large urban high school in order to investigate the characteristics of students who get suspended. Descriptive, epidemiologic analyses, and multivariate statistical analyses were used to investigate which, if any of several screening variables were most likely to predict secondary school suspensions for 9th grade students. Because multivariate statistics may be tedious for many to interpret, epidemiologic analyses were used in order to more easily disseminate study findings to readers and those within the school setting. For males, statistics were calculated for three groups of students: (1) males having more than one 9th grade suspension, (2) males having any 9th grade suspensions, and (3) males having no 9th grade suspensions. For females, statistics were calculated for two groups of students: (1) females having any 9th grade suspensions, and (2) females having no 9th grade suspensions. Overall, students having at least one suspension during their 8th grade year were found to be at greater risk for suspension during the 9th grade. Analyses conducted across gender indicated that males were over three times more likely to be suspended than females. Also, the variables associated with an increase in the likelihood of suspension for males and females were different. More specifically, for males having any 9th grade suspensions, a GPA of 1.60 or lower, any suspensions during the 8th grade, a significant score on the SSRS, and any significant score on subscales of the Youth Self-Report (YSR) were associated with an increase in the likelihood of suspension. Importantly, analyses also indicated that males with more than one suspension were found to have a greater incidence of reading deficits and absences during the 8th grade than males with only one or no suspensions. For females, suspensions during the 8th grade, a significant score on any subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), absences during the 8th grade, significant scores on subscales of the Youth Self-Report (YSR), and a significant score on the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS) were associated with an increase in the likelihood of 9th grade suspension.

ISBN

9780591724059

Pages

225

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_disstheses.6585

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