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Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Youth and Adolescence 2/2011

01-02-2011 | Empirical Research

The Effect of School Dropout on Verbal Ability in Adulthood: A Propensity Score Matching Approach

Auteurs: Michael G. Vaughn, Kevin M. Beaver, Jade Wexler, Matt DeLisi, Gregory J. Roberts

Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Youth and Adolescence | Uitgave 2/2011

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Abstract

Compared to high school graduates, adolescents who drop out of school are more likely to have a range of negative outcomes, including lower verbal capacities; however, the true nature of this association is not well-understood. Dropping out of school could have an important effect on reducing verbal skills, or the link between dropping out of school and diminished verbal skills could be a spurious association that is the result of unmeasured confounding variables. The current study tested these two competing perspectives by using propensity-score-matching (PSM) to unpack the association between school dropout and verbal skills among 7,317 respondents from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (51% female, 49% male; 62% Caucasian, 38% minority). The results of the PSM models indicated a small yet meaningful statistically significant effect of dropout on verbal skills in adulthood even after taking into account a range of confounders. We conclude by discussing the implications of our results.
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Metagegevens
Titel
The Effect of School Dropout on Verbal Ability in Adulthood: A Propensity Score Matching Approach
Auteurs
Michael G. Vaughn
Kevin M. Beaver
Jade Wexler
Matt DeLisi
Gregory J. Roberts
Publicatiedatum
01-02-2011
Uitgeverij
Springer US
Gepubliceerd in
Journal of Youth and Adolescence / Uitgave 2/2011
Print ISSN: 0047-2891
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-6601
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-009-9501-1

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