Publication

School suspension as a predictor of young adult homelessness: The International Youth Development Study.

Publication Year: 2025

Authors: Jessica A. Heerde, Jennifer A. Bailey, Gabriel J. Merrin, Monika Raniti, George C. Patton, John W. Toumbourou, & Susan M. Sawyer

Publication Title: Journal of Prevention

Page(s): Advance online publication. doi:10.1007/s10935-025-00829-y

Link to Publication: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-025-00829-y

Abstract: School suspension in adolescence has been shown to predict homelessness in young adulthood, suggesting that it may be a point of intervention to reduce young adult homelessness. Under zero tolerance policies, school suspension is more common in the United States relative to Australia. Multilevel modeling of cross-national longitudinal data from the International Youth Development Study tested prospective associations between adolescent problem behaviors, student-perceived likelihood of suspension/expulsion, school-level behavior management policy, and young adult homelessness. Population-based samples of participants from Washington State (United States) and Victoria (Australia) were surveyed at ages 13, 14, 15 (2002-2004), and 25 years (2014-15; n = 1945; 51% female). Over half of the young adults who reported homelessness within the previous year at age 25 had experienced school suspension. Individual-level school suspension in middle school predicted young adult homelessness. Higher levels of adolescent rebelliousness, non-violent and violent antisocial behavior, and substance use predicted a higher likelihood of school suspension at the person-level and were indirectly related to increased risk for homelessness at age 25. School behavior management policy was not related to a history of school suspension at either the person- or school-level once individual factors were controlled. Findings demonstrate the importance of school suspension as a risk factor for future homelessness and suggest that prevention programming that aims to mitigate substance use, antisocial behaviors, and school suspension may help to reduce young adult homelessness.