The relationship between loneliness and school dropout

Dropout Prevention and Intervention Programs: Effects on School Completion and Dropout among School‐aged Children and Youth

School dropout can be an ongoing process of academic failure and disengagement starting as early as elementary school. Given the importance of early identification of risk factors, the present study examines (a) whether early conduct problems and depressive symptoms predict a higher risk of school dropout, (b) whether depressive symptoms moderate the association between conduct problems and risk of school dropout, and (c) the sex differences in these associations. Using data from a longitudinal study on 744 children aged 6–9 (T1), a multiple linear regression was performed to test for the effect of conduct problems and depressive symptoms (T1) and the interaction between them on the risk of school dropout (T8), as well as for sex differences in these associations. Results showed that conduct problems significantly predicted a higher risk of school dropout 7 years later, while depressive symptoms did not. Depressive symptoms significantly moderated the effect of conduct problems on the risk of dropout, with conduct problems having a stronger effect in children with higher depressive symptoms. No sex differences were found. These results suggest that recognizing and treating depressive symptoms in children with conduct problems may be an important step in reducing their risk of dropout.

The aim of this study was to examine the link between psychosocial adjustment, impulsivity and comorbid Axis II psychopathology, and the risk of treatment dropout in cocaine dependent patients. The sample consisted of 95 cocaine dependent participants, 53.7% of whom had been diagnosed with Axis II personality disorders. We utilised a descriptive methodology, which allowed us to examine correlations between the different variables, group differences in these variables, and their ability to predict different dimensions associated with the risk of dropout. Results show that the risk of dropout during the first two months of treatment is not associated with the existence of comorbid personality disorders. With regard to the cognitive profiles of personality disorders, we show that the antisocial profile is associated with higher risk of dropout. The profile of patients at higher risk of treatment dropout is characterised by lower levels of perceived quality of life and elevated levels of impulsivity, especially the experience of strong impulses under positive affect. Therefore, the presence of psychological dimensions tightly associated with emotions, affects and subjective feelings are the more relevant to estimate the risk of treatment dropout in cocaine dependent patients. This study stresses the variables that need to be specifically addressed during early phases of cocaine addiction treatment, since they are associated with higher risk of treatment dropout.

PROTOCOL: Dropout Prevention and Intervention Programs: Effects on School Completion and Dropout Among School‐aged Children and Youth

School dropout and child marriage are interrelated outcomes that have an enormous impact on adolescent girls. However, the literature reveals gaps in the empirical evidence on the link between child marriage and the dropout of girls from school. This study identifies the ‘tipping point’ school grades in Nepal when the risk of dropout due to marriage is highest, measures the effect of child marriage on girls’ school dropout rates, and assesses associated risk factors. Weighted percentages were calculated to examine the grades at highest risk and the distribution of reasons for discontinuing school. Using the Nepal Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2014 data, we estimated the effect of marriage on school attendance and dropout among girls aged 15–17 by constructing logistic regression models. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to assess risk factors of school dropout due to child marriage. It was found that early marriage is the most common reason given for leaving school. Overall, the risk of school dropout due to marriage heightens after girls complete the fifth or sixth grade. The risk of girls’ dropping out peaks in the seventh and eighth grades and remains noteworthy in the ninth and tenth grades. Married girls in Nepal are 10 times more likely to drop out than their unmarried peers. Little or no education of the household head, belonging to the Kirat religion, and membership of a traditionally disadvantaged social class each elevate the risk of school dropout due to early marriage. The findings underscore the need to delay girl’s marriage so as to reduce girls’ school dropout in Nepal. School-based programmes aimed at preventing child marriage should target girls from the fifth grade because they are at increased risk of dropping out, as well as prioritizing girls from disadvantaged groups.

The authors examined the developmental pathways between high school graduates and dropouts. The authors obtained official school data via a random sample of 119 students enrolled across 4 cohorts. The authors postulated 2 research questions: (a) Do differences exist in the developmental pathways of high school graduates in comparison with high school dropouts? (b) If differences do exist in the developmental pathways of high school graduates in comparison with high school dropouts, when and across which variables do these differences occur? Multiple t tests demonstrated differences between high school graduates and dropouts as early as kindergarten. Further, the developmental progression of graduates and dropouts diverged over time, regardless of which subject data was studied.

Liver transplantation and waitlist mortality for HCC and non-HCC candidates following the 2015 HCC exception policy change.

BackgroundBirthweight and gestational age are important factors of not only newborn health by also child development and can contribute to delayed cognitive abilities. However, no study has analyzed the association of birthweight and gestational age with school trajectory measured simultaneously by school entry, grade repetition, and school dropout. This study aims, first, to analyze the association of birthweight or gestational age with school entry, and second, to explore the relationship between birthweight or gestational age and grade repetition and school dropout among children in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.MethodsThis study used longitudinal data from the Ouagadougou Health and Demographic Surveillance System. Our samples consisted of children born between 2008 and 2014 who were at least three years old at the beginning of the 2017–18 school year. Samples included 13,676, 3152, and 3498 children for the analysis of the school entry, grade repetition, and dropout, respectively. A discrete-time survival model was used to examine the relationship between birthweight or gestational age and school entry, grade repetition, and dropout. The association between birthweight or gestational age and age at school entry were assessed using a Poisson regression.ResultsThe incidence rate of school entry was 18.1 per 100 people-years. The incidence of first repetition and dropout were 12.6 and 5.9, respectively. The probability of school entry decreased by 31% (HR:0.69, 95%CI: 0.56–0.85) and 8% (HR:0.92, 95%CI: 0.85–0.99) for children weighing less than 2000 g and those weighing between 2000 and 2499 g, respectively, compared to those born with a normal weight (weight ≥ 2500 g). The age at school entry of children with a birthweight less than 2000 g and between 2000 and 2499 g was 7% (IRR: 1.07, 95%CI: 1.06–1.08) and 3% (IRR: 1.03, 95%CI: 1.00-1.06) higher than children born at a normal birthweight, respectively. Gestational age was not associated with school entry or age at school entry. Similarly, birthweight and gestational age were not associated with grade repetition or dropout.ConclusionThis study shows that low birthweight is negatively associated with school entry and age at school entry in Ouagadougou. Efforts to avoid low birthweights should be part of maternal and prenatal health care because the associated difficulties may be difficult to overcome later in the child’s life. Further longitudinal studies are needed to better understand the relationship between development at birth and school trajectory.

Research Originality — This study provides new empirical evidence on the effectiveness of the Smart Indonesia Program (Program Indonesia Pintar, or PIP), a cash transfer program specifically targeting education, in reducing the risk of school dropout among low-income students during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike previous studies, it focuses on the differential impact across education levels using nationally representative post-pandemic data. Research Objectives — The research aims to evaluate the impact of PIP on reducing school dropout rates among students aged 6-21 years from low-income households in Indonesia. It also seeks to identify at which educational level the program has the most pronounced effect. Research Methods — This study employed the propensity score matching (PSM) method using the March 2022 National Socioeconomic Survey (SUSENAS) data. The approach controls for selection bias in estimating the causal impact of PIP on educational outcomes. Empirical Results — The findings showed that PIP significantly reduced the risk of dropout across all education levels. The most substantial impacts were observed at the junior and senior high school levels, where PIP recipients showed a lower risk of dropout than non-recipients by 2.11 and 2.04 percentage points, respectively. At the elementary level, the risk of dropout decreased by 0.34 percentage points. Implications — These results underscore the importance of expanding PIP coverage and establishing a robust monitoring system for fund utilization to enhance the program's effectiveness in promoting educational participation among poor households.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Interventional Liver-Directed Therapies for a Single, Small Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Liver Transplant Candidates

Identification and comparison of the main variables affecting early university dropout rates according to knowledge area and institution

Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s relational theory this paper shows that many teachers misrecognize the impact of teacher–student relationships on school dropout. The study is based on a series of 60 semi-structured interviews with teachers from Austrian secondary schools. The analysis of the empirical data reveals that many teachers attribute school disengagement and dropout to personal and family factors, whereas the causes of school dropout which are linked to the school structure, attitudes and behaviour remain unspoken or marginalised. The findings illustrate that the interplay between a defensive traditional teaching habitus, a field of traditional teaching and the mainstream doxa legitimises a logic of teaching practice which ignores the importance of social capital to counteract the process of dropping out. It is concluded that traditional habitus–field relations inhibit the building of social capital and relationships in school, which both are crucial resources to tackle school dropout.

Rationale : Child maltreatment, which includes both child abuse and child neglect, is widely regarded as a serious social and public health problem that affects large numbers of children in the United States. In 2012, U.S. state and local child protective services received an estimated 3.4 million referrals of children being abused or neglected. There is increasing evidence that exposure to child maltreatment can lead to many emotional, behavioral, and physical health problems. However, little is known about whether child maltreatment has a significant influence on the victim’s educational attainment, and whether child maltreatment mediates the effects of family background factors on the victim’s educational outcomes. This study is motivated by the high prevalence of child maltreatment in the United States and our limited knowledge about the long-term consequence of maltreatment on children’s human capital accumulation. Our central question is whether preventing child maltreatment helps reduce the number of high school dropouts. We focus on high school dropout because it poses one of the greatest threats to the nation’s economic growth and competitiveness. About 2,500 American high school students drop out every day. Dropouts are far more likely to spend their lives periodically unemployed, on government assistance, or cycling in and out of the prison system. Dropouts are far more likely to spend their lives periodically unemployed, on government assistance, or cycling in and out of the prison system. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average annual income of a high school dropout was about $22,000, while a person with a high school diploma averaged $33,000; that’s a difference of $11,000 a year. The economic consequences of leaving high school without a diploma are severe. Objective: The objective of this study is to use a nationally representative longitudinal sample of adolescents to examine the effects of family background factors and three forms of child maltreatment (neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse) on the risk of high school dropout, allowing for the potential endogeneity of experiencing child maltreatment. Methodology: Data describing family background characteristics from Wave I of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) study (1994 – 1995) were matched with retrospective reports of child maltreatment during Wave III (2001 – 2002) of the Add Health study and the exit statuses from high school appearing on Wave III respondents’ transcripts. The study sample included 6,422 participants who were in grades 7 through 10 during Wave I survey and reinterviewed in Wave III survey, and whose official high school transcripts were collected by the Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement study, an extension study of the Add Health study. A behavior decision model, which related high school dropout to child maltreatment and family background characteristics, was developed to guide our empirical analyses. A maximum simulated likelihood approach for a multivariate probit model was used to estimate a recursive system of equations for high school dropout, child maltreatment and family background. The estimations under other specifications of the empirical model—propensity score matching estimations, linear probability model specifications with instrumental variables, and models with alternative definitions of child maltreatment—were used to test the robustness of our findings. Results: Controlling for other variables, family size, family structure (two biological parents or not), parental education, and family poverty are all significantly associated with high school dropout. Hyperactivity/impulsive symptoms and low IQ also significantly predict high school dropout. The associations between family background characteristics and child maltreatment vary by type of child maltreatment experienced. Living with both biological parents is significantly associated with the lower risk of maltreatment for all three types of child maltreatment. Family poverty is only significantly associated with childhood neglect, while family size is only significantly associated with childhood physical abuse. Allowing for endogeneity, childhood neglect and physical abuse contributes significantly to the risk of high school dropout, while childhood sexual abuse is not significantly associated with the risk of high school dropout. Experiencing childhood neglect and physical abuse increase the probability of high school dropout by 7% and 6%, respectively. The estimations under other specifications of the empirical model indicate that the results regarding the significant effects of neglect and physical abuse are robust. Conclusions: The findings shed light on how parents’ attitudes and behaviors toward children influence their long-term human capital accumulation outcomes. Preventing childhood neglect and physical abuse in economically disadvantaged and/or non-two biological parent families may help significantly reduce the high school dropout rate.

Introduction In the EU, over 13% of 15-29 years olds are not participating in Education, Employment or Training (NEET), which increases their risk of health problems and lower well-being later in life. This study investigates whether mental disorders in childhood impacts i) high school drop-out during adolescence, and ii) NEET in their early twenties. Secondly, it assesses to what extent the effect of mental disorders on NEET is mediated by high school drop-out. Methods Longitudinal nationwide register data from Statistics Netherlands were used for persons born in 1994. These included medication prescription for mental disorders (ages 12-15 years), high school dropout (ages 16-19 years) and participation in education or employment (age 21-26 years). NEET was defined as the proportion of time a person was not in employment or education between the ages of 21 and 26. Linear regression analyses were performed on the association between mental disorders and NEET and logistic regression analyses on the association between mental disorders and having a high school dropout period. Causal mediation analysis was used to assess to what extent the effect of mental disorders on NEET could be reduced by eliminating high school dropout. Results Taking medication for mental disorders was strongly associated with a longer NEET period and also increased the risk of having a high school dropout period. Having a high school dropout period significantly contributed to having a longer NEET period among persons with mental disorders. Further results of this study will follow later. Conclusions Mental disorders in childhood are strongly associated with a longer NEET period in early adulthood, which can be reduced by preventing high school dropout. It is of paramount importance to prevent, detect and treat mental disorders from a young age and prevent persons from dropping out of high school, as it can affect outcomes later in life. Key messages • Mental disorders in childhood are strongly associated with a longer NEET period in early adulthood, which can be reduced by preventing high school dropout. • It is of paramount importance to prevent, detect and treat mental disorders from a young age and prevent persons from dropping out of high school, as it can affect outcomes later in life.

IntroductionThis study investigates (1) whether mental health problems among individuals aged 12–15 years impact (a) high school dropout (ages 16–20 years) and (b) having a ‘neither in employment nor in...