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Psychiatric Correlates of Behavioral Indicators of School Disengagement in the United States

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Abstract

The current study examined relations between behavioral indicators of school disengagement and psychiatric disorders. Data was derived from a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults (N = 43,093). Indicators of school disengagement and diagnoses of personality, substance use, mood, and anxiety disorders were assessed with the Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule-DSM-IV-version. Findings from multinomial logistic regression analyses revealed that cumulative school disengagement is associated with increased odds of reporting a lifetime psychiatric disorder and general antisociality. Behavioral indicators of school disengagement such as absenteeism and cutting class are potentially important signs of psychiatric distress and conduct problems. In addition to attending to academic achievement outcomes school disengagement prevention strategies should consider targeting these psychiatric conditions in order to reduce school dropout.

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Acknowledgments

NESARC was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism with additional support provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The authors are grateful for support from NIH grants: DA021405 and K07CA104119 and partial support from the Greater Texas Foundation and the Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk at the University of Texas at Austin. The contents of the article are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Saint Louis University, 3550 Lindell Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63103, USA

    Michael G. Vaughn

  2. Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Jade Wexler & Gregory Roberts

  3. College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

    Kevin M. Beaver

  4. School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Brian E. Perron

  5. Division of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Qiang Fu

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  1. Michael G. Vaughn
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  2. Jade Wexler
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  3. Kevin M. Beaver
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  4. Brian E. Perron
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  5. Gregory Roberts
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  6. Qiang Fu
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Correspondence to Michael G. Vaughn.

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Vaughn, M.G., Wexler, J., Beaver, K.M. et al. Psychiatric Correlates of Behavioral Indicators of School Disengagement in the United States. Psychiatr Q 82, 191–206 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-010-9160-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-010-9160-0

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