NCJ Number
154124
Journal
Journal of Adolescence Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: (February 1995) Pages: 105-121
Date Published
1995
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Data from 548 adolescents ages 13-19 in a working-class community in South Africa were analyzed to document selected characteristics of these teenage school dropouts and compare the prevalence of their risk-taking behavior with that of teenagers attending school.
Abstract
Some data were gathered from household heads or their spouses, while others came from questionnaires completed by dropouts themselves. Results revealed that 15.9 percent of the youths were dropouts; 62.1 percent of them left school after fewer than 9 years of schooling. Those still attending school were more likely to engage in suicidal behavior but less likely to use drugs and, for females, to have had sexual intercourse. Findings indicated that intervention needs to begin in elementary school and to address the related phenomena of dropping out and risk-raking behavior. Tables and 30 references