Predicting School Suspension Risk from Eighth through Tenth Grade Using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Background:

• The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a widely used tool for assessing child and adolescent mental health.
• Understanding factors that predict school suspensions is crucial for developing effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore alternative factor structures of the SDQ using exploratory factor analysis (EFA).
• To identify which SDQ scales best predict school suspensions in early adolescents.
• To determine useful cut-off scores for identifying at-risk youth.

Main Methods:

• Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to analyze the SDQ data from 321 parent-student dyads.
• Logistic regression path analyses predicted the risk of school suspensions across three grade levels (8th, 9th, and 10th).
• Predictor variables included original SDQ scales and newly derived symptom/strength factors.

Main Results:

• A symptoms-based EFA yielded factors: Misbehavior, Isolation, and Agitation.
• A strength-based EFA yielded factors: Emotional, Social, and Moral competence.
• The Misbehavior scale consistently predicted suspensions across all grades, with significant odds ratios.

Conclusions:

• The Misbehavior scale of the SDQ is a reliable predictor of school suspensions in early adolescents.
• Established cut-off scores for the Misbehavior scale show potential for identifying at-risk students, but require careful consideration.
• Screening tools like the SDQ can aid in identifying youth at risk for complex disciplinary decisions such as suspensions.