New research from the University of Arkansas (U of A) indicates that school suspensions and expulsions can lead to higher rates of depression through adolescence and into early adulthood. As Matthew Moore with Arkansas Public Radio station KUAF reports, Dr. Alexia Angton, is the first author on the research. She is an assistant professor of sociology and criminology at the U of A.
Dr. Angton says they examined the negative effects of suspensions and expulsions. “Some of that may be, you know, higher likelihood of teenage pregnancy, of dropping out of school, you know, or (inaudible) of that nature and people have talked about health a little bit, maybe broadly speaking and so we really wanted to kind of understand like how detrimental suspensions and expulsions for later life outcomes.”
The findings were published in the latest issue of Advances in Life Course research. The researchers found that “school suspension or expulsion discipline increased by approximately 50% from the early 1970s to 2010, due to the widespread adoption of zero-tolerance policies that mandate predetermined consequences for violations of the student code of conduct.”
Their research also found that despite the fact that zero-tolerance policies have declined in recent years, estimates show about 5 million youth experience what is categorized as exclusionary discipline every year in the U.S.
