Reporter Discrepancies in the Associations Between Mental Health Concerns and School Discipline

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development℠ (ABCD) Study, which follows more than 11,000 adolescents, provides a unique opportunity to examine the causes and consequences of school detentions and suspensions. Although school records are considered the gold standard for assessing disciplinary events, they are not available in the ABCD Study®. Instead, youth and caregivers provide single-item reports of past-year discipline that may differ in scope and severity. The current study explored whether prospective associations with future school discipline varied by reporter, focusing on prior-year adolescent mental health concerns and discipline history as predictors.

Data from the ABCD Study (baseline n = 9,772; 8-11 years of age; 52% male) were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models with multiple imputation. Multi-informant mental health concerns (externalizing, inattention/impulsivity, and internalizing) from the first follow-up wave predicted discipline over the next 2 years across 4 discipline-reporting groups: youth-reported (20%), caregiver-reported (13%), agreement (10%), and either reporter (24%).

Youth-reported and either-reporter discipline measures showed higher prevalence rates but weaker bivariate associations with prior mental health and disciplinary history relative to caregiver-reported and agreement discipline measures; however, most differences diminished after covariate adjustment. Across reporters, prior discipline remained the strongest predictor of future discipline.

Reporter choice in school discipline measurement influenced observed associations. Patterns suggested that youth-reported discipline may capture a broad range of infractions, whereas caregiver-reported discipline may reflect more severe events. However, recognizing the limited precision of single-item discipline indicators is essential for interpreting results and guiding future ABCD investigations.