Department of Health Education & Behavior, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA.
J Sch Health. 2011 Aug;81(8):485-92. doi: 10.1111/j.1746-1561.2011.00618.x.
Truancy and alcohol use are quality indicators of academic achievement and success. However, there remains a paucity of substantive research articulating the impact these deviant behaviors have on an adolescent's educational aspirations. The purpose of this study is to assess whether recent alcohol use and truancy impact students' educational aspirations among a nationally representative sample of US high school seniors.
This study conducted a secondary data analysis of the Monitoring the Future project data, 2006. Logistic regression was conducted to assess how alcohol use and truancy affected educational aspirations. Subsequent interaction effects were assessed in the final multivariable model. Demographic variables such as age, sex, race, and father and mother's educational level were included as covariates in the regression model.
Results indicate that as students engage in increased alcohol use and/or truancy, educational aspirations decrease. Thus, students who indicated a desire to attend a 4-year college/university were less likely to engage in high-risk drinking behavior and/or truancy. Moreover, in testing the interaction between truancy and alcohol use, as it relates to educational aspirations, the logistic regression model found both of these independent variables to be statistically significant predictors of the likelihood students would attend a 4-year college/university.
To ensure that adolescents further their education and maximize their potential life opportunities, school and public health officials should initiate efforts to reduce alcohol consumption and truancy among students. Furthermore, future research should examine the risk and protective factors that may influence one's educational aspirations.
逃学和饮酒是学业成就和成功的重要指标。然而，目前仍缺乏实质性的研究来阐明这些偏差行为对青少年教育期望的影响。本研究的目的是评估最近的饮酒和逃学是否会影响美国高中高年级学生的教育期望。
本研究对“未来监测项目”的数据进行了二次数据分析，时间为 2006 年。采用逻辑回归评估饮酒和逃学如何影响教育期望。在最终的多变量模型中评估了后续的交互效应。将年龄、性别、种族、父母受教育程度等人口统计学变量作为回归模型中的协变量。
结果表明，随着学生饮酒和/或逃学次数的增加，教育期望会降低。因此，那些表示希望上四年制大学的学生不太可能有高风险的饮酒行为和/或逃学。此外，在测试逃学和饮酒与教育期望之间的交互作用时，逻辑回归模型发现这两个独立变量都是学生上四年制大学的可能性的统计学显著预测因素。
为了确保青少年继续接受教育并最大限度地提高他们未来的生活机会，学校和公共卫生官员应努力减少学生的饮酒和逃学行为。此外，未来的研究应探讨可能影响一个人教育期望的风险和保护因素。
