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Occupational outcomes of truancy
A Hibbett1, K Fogelman, O Manor
1Employment Department, London.
The British Journal of Educational Psychology
|February 1, 1990
Summary
Truancy in early adulthood is linked to significant employment challenges, including lower status jobs and increased unemployment. These negative outcomes persist even when accounting for socioeconomic background and academic ability.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Criminology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Truancy is a common issue among adolescents.
- Understanding long-term consequences of truancy is crucial for intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between early adult truancy and subsequent life outcomes.
- To determine if truancy predicts employment problems beyond other disadvantage factors.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the National Child Development Study, a British longitudinal survey.
- Analyzed early adult outcomes (occupation, career stability, income, unemployment) of individuals with a history of truancy.
Main Results:
- Truancy is significantly associated with lower status occupations and less stable career paths.
- Former truants experienced more unemployment and were less well-off when family circumstances were considered.
- These associations remained robust after controlling for social background, academic ability, and qualifications.
Conclusions:
- Truancy acts as a predictor of future employment difficulties.
- The negative impact of truancy on employment is more severe than that of shared disadvantages like low attainment.