Parenting practices during middle adolescence and high school dropout

Abstract

Introduction: Despite inconclusive findings, educational researchers have long considered adequate parenting practices instrumental in preventing high school dropout among adolescents. The present short-term retrospective study focuses on parenting practices during middle adolescence when dropout typically occurs.

Methods: The culturally diverse, high-risk sample of Canadian adolescents (N = 108; M_age = 16.0 years) from low-income neighborhoods included very recent dropouts and matched still-in-school students. A global score reflecting the quality of parenting practices during the period preceding dropout (or comparable period) was derived from adolescents' answers to a well-established structured interview protocol. Transcripts of interviews were also used to identify the potentially disruptive challenges (e.g., parental incarceration) that families faced.

Results: Results show a robust relationship between current parenting practices and dropout that was not moderated by challenging family circumstances or immigration history. Descriptive findings indicate that extreme and relatively rare cases of parental neglect were associated with a high dropout risk, but that most dropouts lived in families where communication and supervision, although not entirely absent, were minimal.

Conclusion: Offering systematic support to parents of middle adolescents could help to prevent dropout in high-risk communities.

Keywords: Family challenges; High school dropout; Immigration; Middle adolescence; Parenting practices.