title: Associations between reasons to attend and late-high school dropout.
abstract: This study addressed (1) whether there were unique profiles of student self-reported reasons for attending school among 10(th) graders, (2) whether these profiles were differentially associated with late high-school dropout, and (3) whether parent characteristics differed across profiles. Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (N = 15,362), five latent classes were found. The first class (49%) reported intrinsic, identified/introjected, and external motivations for attending school. The second class (32%) attended for identified/introjected and external reasons, while the third class (11%) reported intrinsic and identified/introjected reasons. The final two classes reported only identified/introjected (5%) or external (4%) motivations. Individuals in the identified/introjected and external classes were at greatest risk of dropping out between 10(th) and 12(th) grade. A host of parenting characteristics differed across class, with students in the intrinsic-identified/introjected-external class displaying the most favorable pattern of results. Implications for dropout prevention and academic promotion programs are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Brown University Warren Alpert Medical School, 50 Holden St, Providence RI 02908.
authors.forename: Beau
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Abar
authors.forename: Caitlin C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Abar
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lippold
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Powers
authors.forename: Alice E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Manning