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Exclusionary School Discipline and Delinquent Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis

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Abstract

Excluding students from school remains a common form of punishment despite growing critique of the practice. A disparate research base has impeded the ability to make broader assessments on the association between exclusionary discipline (i.e., suspensions and expulsions) and subsequent behavior. This article synthesizes existing empirical evidence (274 effect sizes from 40 primary studies) examining the relationship between exclusionary discipline and delinquent outcomes, including school misconduct/infractions, antisocial behavior, involvement with the justice system, and risky behaviors. This meta-analysis identifies exclusionary discipline as an important and meaningful predictor of increased delinquency. Additional examinations of potential moderators, including race/ethnicity and type of exclusion, revealed no significant differences, suggesting the harm associated with exclusions is consistent across subgroups. These findings indicate exclusionary discipline may inadvertently exacerbate rather than mollify delinquent behaviors.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Editor and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. The authors also thank Robert Marx and Francis Pearman for feedback and suggestions in the early stages of project development

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

J.G. participated in the study design, coordination, all stages of data collection and coding, and the statistical analysis and drafted the manuscript; S.V. participated in the study design, coordination, all stages of data collection and coding, and the statistical analysis and helped draft the manuscript; J.H.G. participated in the study design, coordination, and all stages of data collection and coding and helped draft the manuscript; B.F. participated in the study design, coordination, and all stages of data collection and coding, helped draft the manuscript, and performed the statistical analysis and interpretation of data; F.C.C. participated in the study design, coordination, and all stages of data collection and coding and helped draft the manuscript; E.H. participated in the initial stages of data collection and coding. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julie Gerlinger.

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Appendix A. Summary and Select Characteristics of Included Studies

Appendix A. Summary and Select Characteristics of Included Studies

Study

Total # effect sizes

Direction of effect size

Publication type

Design

Maximum sample size

Exclusion type

Outcomes measured

Age

Percent white

Percent black

Percent male

# of controls

Allen and Lo (2012)

12

Negative

Journal

Cross-sectional

450

Expulsion

Gun carrying; Drug dealing; Ever hurt someone; Drug trafficking or gun carrying; Both drug trafficking and gun carrying

16.43–17.09

NA

46–73.4

100

0–6

Amemiya (2019)

12

Mixed

Dissertation

Longitudinal

729

ISS/OSS

Defiant infractions; Minor infractions; Latent class of infractions

13.5

25

75

46.8

0–12

Barnes and Motz (2018)

3

Negative

Journal

Longitudinal

8710

Suspension/ Expulsion

Arrest

15.46

0–100

0–100

45.9

11–12

Campbell (2017)

2

Negative

Thesis

Cross-sectional

11,617

OSS; Expulsion

Delinquency scale

15.5–15.6

60.32–63.51

19.86–22.80

41.71–44.53

0

Christle et al. (2005)

3

Negative

Journal

Cross-sectional

40

Suspension; Expulsion

Law violation rate; # of law violations

NA

86.24–89.51

NA

50.43–51.77

0

Costenbader and Markson (1998)

4

Negative

Journal

Cross-sectional

620

ISS/OSS

Involved in legal system (arrested, probation, or parole); Rule compliance/acting out

NA

50

23

48

0–4

Cottrell (2017)

30

Negative

Dissertation

Longitudinal

1960

OSS

Non-serious delinquency; Serious delinquency

NA

0–100

0–100

NA

6–7

Fabelo et al. (2011)

5

Negative

Report

Longitudinal

928,940

ISS/OSS/Expulsion

Juvenile justice contact

NA

43

14

51

0

Forsyth et al. (2014)

6

Negative

Journal

Cross-sectional

141,713

Suspension/ Expulsion

Burglary; Criminal damage to property; Assault/battery; Arson; Rape/sexual battery; Murder

NA

32

65

64.4

0

Fortunato et al. (2010)

8

Negative

Journal

Cross-sectional

638

Suspension

Alcohol use; Smoking; Illicit Drug use; Gambling; Smoking

NA

NA

NA

NA

0

Ganao et al. (2013)

6

Negative

Journal

Cross-sectional

3318

Suspension

Alcohol use; Delinquency

14.51

0–100

0–100

NA

0–12

Gates (1977)

1

Negative

Dissertation

Longitudinal

200

OSS

Frequency of deviant behavior (number of contacts with law enforcement during the school year)

NA

NA

NA

NA

0

Gilbert (2019)

4

Negative

Dissertation

Longitudinal

10,321

Suspension/ Expulsion

Adult criminality

34

67.4

15.3

49.7

0–2

Graham (2016)

8

Negative

Dissertation

Longitudinal

21,690

OSS

Court involvement

18–24

0–100

0–100

57.62

0

Hanson and Voight (2014)

8

Negative

Report

Cross-sectional

949

Suspension

Delinquency; Substance use

NA

28–31

6–9

NA

0

Harris (2015)

42

Mixed

Dissertation

Longitudinal

1,545

Suspension; Expulsion

Status offenses; Juvenile court referral; Violent offenses; Juvenile court contact

10.39

0

100

0–100

0–5

Hemphill et al. (2012)

5

Negative

Journal

Longitudinal

961

Suspension

Grade 8/9 antisocial behavior; Non-violent antisocial behavior

31.1

65

4

50

0–3

Hemphill et al. (2013)

1

Negative

Journal

Longitudinal

1,838

Suspension

Non-violent antisocial behavior

NA

65

NA

50

12

Jaggers et al. (2016)

3

Negative

Journal

Longitudinal

507,613

Expulsion

Violent crime LADOC contact; Incarceration; LADOC contact

10.02

NA

57.2

51.29

9

Katsiyannis et al. (2013)

2

Negative

Journal

Longitudinal

12,114

OSS

Violent criminal offending

15.41

74

NA

46

12

Lockwood (1995)

3

Negative

Dissertation

Cross-sectional

54

Suspension

Social problems; Delinquent behavior; Aggressive behavior

17.44

44

52

57

0

Loyola (1985)

4

Mixed

Dissertation

Longitudinal

50

ISS/OSS

Frequency of misbehavior; Severity of misbehavior

NA

11.8

73.24

64

0

Mittleman (2018)

3

Negative

Journal

Longitudinal

2,924

OSS/Expulsion

Arrest by age 15

15.5

NA

57

51

0–7

Monahan et al. (2014)

1

Negative

Journal

Longitudinal

1,354

Suspension/ Expulsion

Arrest

16

20.2

41.5

86.4

1

Morrow et al. (2019)

1

Negative

Journal

Longitudinal

292

Suspension

Arrest in past year

16

NA

NA

64.4

0

Mowen and Brent (2016)

6

Negative

Journal

Longitudinal

7,397

Suspension

Arrest

15.3

55

22.9

48.2

8

Novak (2019)

2

Negative

Journal

Longitudinal

837

OSS

Justice system involvement; Deviant peer association

4–18

26

56

50

12

Pesta (2017)

10

Mixed

Dissertation

Longitudinal

4,321

OSS/Expulsion

Delinquency; Adult crime

21.7–21.9

0–100

0–100

50–52.1

0–12

Poteat et al. (2016)

9

Negative

Journal

Cross-sectional

13,645

Suspension

Juvenile justice system involvement; Alcohol; Marijuana; Weapon carriage onto school property; Truant; Cigarette smoking

NA

73.7

5.3

49.8

0–3

Ramey (2016)

8

Negative

Journal

Longitudinal

3,274

Suspension/Expulsion

Involvement with criminal justice system

20.3–21.13

0–100

0–100

NA

0

Ramirez et al. (2012)

15

Negative

Journal

Cross-sectional

12,402

Suspension

Physical violence; Verbal violence; Weapon violence; violence

NA

NA

NA

0–100

6

Rostad et al. (2019)

6

Mixed

Journal

Cross-sectional

924

Suspension/Expulsion

Sexual dating violence; Threatening dating violence; Physical dating violence

15.35–15.48

NA

NA

0–100

6

Slaughter et al. (2019)

2

Mixed

Journal

Longitudinal

308

ISS; OSS

Recidivism

14.25

76.9

11.9

86

8

Tyler and Bersani (2008)

1

Negative

Journal

Longitudinal

1,579

Suspension

Number of times ran away from home

15

58

22

51

0

Watts (2018)

5

Negative

Journal

Longitudinal

10,541

OSS

Crime

16.05–16.26

53

19–22

0–100

0–12

Williams (2013)

8

Negative

Dissertation

Cross-sectional

20

OSS

Count of disruptive, aggressive, or violent behaviors 1–3 weeks following discipline and 4–6 weeks following discipline

NA

31.8–34.3

NA

24

0

Wilson (2016)

4

Negative

Dissertation

Cross-sectional

6,504

OSS; Expulsion

Nonviolent delinquent behavior; Violent behavior

15.45

66.1

16.1

50.8

0

Wolf and Kupchik (2017)

3

Negative

Journal

Longitudinal

7,171

Suspension

Drug use; crime; Incarceration

14.8

NA

22

48

0–5

Yoder et al. (2003)

6

Negative

Journal

Cross-sectional

505

Suspension; Expulsion

Gang membership; Gang involvement

16.03–16.44

59.26–61.78

22.38–25.12

36.21–47.71

0

  1. ISS in-school suspension, OSS out-of-school suspension. The direction of the effect size indicates the relationship between exclusionary discipline and the outcome. Specifically, “positive” indicates that exclusionary discipline is associated with a better outcome, “negative” indicates exclusionary discipline is associated with a worse outcome, and “mixed” indicates that effect sizes within study are a mix of positive and negatively oriented. “Suspension/Expulsion” indicates studies that used a combined measure, whereas “Suspension; Expulsion” indicates studies that examined both forms of exclusionary discipline separately

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Gerlinger, J., Viano, S., Gardella, J.H. et al. Exclusionary School Discipline and Delinquent Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis. J Youth Adolescence 50, 1493–1509 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-021-01459-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-021-01459-3

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