School Suspensions and Adverse Experiences in Adulthood
Justice Quarterly (2016), DOI: 10.1080/07418825.2016.1168475
Posted: 9 Apr 2016 Last revised: 15 Apr 2016
Date Written: April 7, 2016
Abstract
The “school-to-prison pipeline” and the negative effects of suspensions, expulsions and school arrests have received increasing national attention recently. Researchers have documented some of the potential harms of these exclusionary school discipline practices for students, including academic difficulties, increased misconduct, and future justice system contact. However, these investigations have been somewhat limited in scope, as they tend to focus only on students’ academic outcomes and juvenile justice system involvement. In this paper we seek to expand upon prior studies by considering how school suspensions may affect youth in peripheral and long-lasting ways. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent to Adult Health, we analyze whether being suspended from school relates to the likelihood of students experiencing a number of adverse events and outcomes when they are adults. We find that being suspended increases the likelihood that a student will experience criminal victimization, criminal involvement, and incarceration years later, as an adult.
Keywords: school discipline, education, punishment, school-to-prison-pipeline
JEL Classification: I00, K14
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation