The Reciprocal Links Between School Engagement, Youth Problem Behaviors, and School Dropout During Adolescence

2013/07/29 by Ming-Te Wang, Ming‐Te Wang, Jennifer A Fredricks +1 · 746 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Adolescent development #Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development #Developmental psychology #Dropout (neural networks) #Early Childhood Education and Development #Psychology #Reciprocal #School dropout #Youth Development and Social Support

paper · doi:10.1111/cdev.12138

published in Child Development 85(2), 722-737 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 2013/07/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/26

Abstract

Drawing on the self-system model, this study conceptualized school engagement as a multidimensional construct, including behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement, and examined whether changes in the three types of school engagement related to changes in problem behaviors from 7th through 11th grades (approximately ages 12-17). In addition, a transactional model of reciprocal relations between school engagement and problem behaviors was tested to predict school dropout. Data were collected on 1,272 youth from an ethnically and economically diverse county (58% African American, 36% European American; 51% females). Results indicated that adolescents who had declines in behavioral and emotional engagement with school tended to have increased delinquency and substance use over time. There were bidirectional associations between behavioral and emotional engagement in school and youth problem behaviors over time. Finally, lower behavioral and emotional engagement and greater problem behaviors predicted greater likelihood of dropping out of school.

Citations

• Social Support Matters: Longitudinal Effects of Social Support on Three Dimensions of School Engagement From Middle to High School
• Testing Mediational Models With Longitudinal Data: Questions and Tips in the Use of Structural Equation Modeling.
• Trajectories of school engagement during adolescence: Implications for grades, depression, delinquency, and substance use.
• Adolescents’ Perceptions of School Environment, Engagement, and Academic Achievement in Middle School

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