Punishment and Inequality at an Early Age: Exclusionary Discipline in Elementary School

Jacobsen, Wade C.; Pace, Garrett T.; Ramirez, Nayan G.

doi:10.1093/sf/soy072

Cited by 45 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Reform efforts have led to recent declines in some states (Loveless, ), but overall rates are still high, particularly for disadvantaged and racial minority students, not because juvenile crime rates are high but because suspension is often in response to minor misbehavior like classroom disruptions and attendance problems (Kupchik, ; Morris & Perry, ; Skiba et al., ). This is problematic because in a growing body of research, scholars have suggested that suspension may be harmful for child and adolescent development (Cuellar & Markowitz, ; Jacobsen, Pace, & Ramirez, ; Mittleman, ; Morris & Perry, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

School punishment and interpersonal exclusion: Rejection, withdrawal, and separation from friends

Jacobsen

2019

Criminology

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School suspension is a common form of punishment in the United States that is disproportionately concentrated among racial minority and disadvantaged youth. In labeling theories, the implication is that such stigmatized sanctions may lead to interpersonal exclusion from normative others and to greater involvement with antisocial peers. I test this implication in the context of rural schools by 1) examining the association between suspension and discontinuity in same‐grade friendship ties, focusing on three mechanisms implied in labeling theories: rejection, withdrawal, and physical separation; 2) testing the association between suspension and increased involvement with antisocial peers; and (3) assessing whether these associations are stronger in smaller schools. Consistent with labeling theories, I find suspension associated with greater discontinuity in friendship ties, based on changes in the respondents’ friendship preferences and self‐reports of their peers. My findings are also consistent with changes in perceptual measures of exclusion. Additionally, I find suspension associated with greater involvement with substance‐using peers. Some but not all of these associations are stronger in smaller rural schools. Given the disproportionate distribution of suspension, my findings indicate that an excessive reliance on this exclusionary form of punishment may foster inequality among these youth.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

School punishment and interpersonal exclusion: Rejection, withdrawal, and separation from friends

Jacobsen

2019

Criminology

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“…This association is troubling given the large racial disproportionality in both incarceration and school discipline. Black children are at greater risk than Whites or Hispanics of having a father incarcerated (Sykes and Pettit 2014); they are also more likely to be suspended or expelled in elementary school (Jacobsen et al forthcoming). Thus, it is important to consider potential implications of these findings for childhood inequality.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By age 9, about 11 percent of children born in urban areas have been suspended or expelled. For Black children, this jumps to 40 percent of boys and 15 percent of girls, compared to 8 percent and 2 percent for their White or other-race counterparts (Jacobsen et al forthcoming).…”

Section: Suspension Expulsion and The School-to-prison Pipelinementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Less involvement in school may facilitate more unstructured time with peers and greater opportunities for delinquency (Hirschi 1969; Osgood et al 1996). Indeed, such sanctions in elementary school are associated with increased physical aggression (Jacobsen et al forthcoming), a predictor of adolescent violence (Broidy et al 2003). These secondary behavior problems may be accompanied by repeated experiences with punishment; 40 percent of U.S. students suspended each year are suspended again before the year’s end (Civil Rights Data Collection 2018).…”

Section: Suspension Expulsion and The School-to-prison Pipelinementioning

confidence: 99%

“…I focus on elementary school because younger children are more likely to be living with their fathers and may thus be more impacted by his removal. In addition, some research suggests exclusionary punishment in elementary school is associated with increased physical aggression (Jacobsen, Pace, and Ramirez forthcoming), potentially setting children off on behavioral trajectories that are difficult to redirect (e.g., Broidy et al 2003). If paternal incarceration is associated with greater risk of elementary school suspension or expulsion, it may imply that current criminal justice practices are perpetuating a cycle of punishment and social exclusion among disadvantaged families.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Intergenerational Stability of Punishment: Paternal Incarceration and Suspension or Expulsion in Elementary School

Jacobsen

2019

Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency

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Objectives: I extend the life-course theory of cumulative disadvantage to focus on continuity in punishment across generations. Specifically, I examine (1) the association between paternal incarceration and elementary school suspension or expulsion and (2) the extent to which behavior problems and weakened social bonds explain this association. Method: Analyses rely on logistic regression, propensity score matching, and mediation methods with data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study ( N = 3,201), a birth cohort of children born in large U.S. cities between 1998 and 2000. Results: The odds of school punishment among children who had a residential father incarcerated by age 5 are 75 percent greater than the odds for children in a matched control group. About one third of this association is accounted for by behavior problems and weakened social bonds. Even after accounting for behavior problems and social bonds, children whose fathers were incarcerated are at greater risk of school punishment. Conclusions: I find evidence of an intergenerational stability of punishment and mixed support for an intergenerational extension to cumulative disadvantage theory. Paternal incarceration is associated with children’s likelihood of experiencing formal punishment in elementary school, and behavior problems and weakened social bonds explain part of this association.

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The association between family adversity and youth mental health outcomes

Somefun

Theron

Ungar

2023

Journal of Adolescence

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BackgroundThe association between family adversity and young people's mental health outcomes in communities that experience economic instability has not been well explored in the South African context. Furthermore, the overtime interaction between resilience factors, family adversity, and young people's psychological functioning in African settings, like South Africa, is under‐investigated.PurposeThis study investigates the relationship between family adversity and conduct problems and depression at two‐time points in a sample of youths in two South African communities stressed by their dependency on economically volatile oil and gas industries.MethodThis article draws on longitudinal data generated by the Resilient Youth in Stressed Environments (RYSE) study in South Africa, which included 914 and 528 (wave 1 and 3) adolescents and emerging adults (14–27‐year‐olds; M age = 18.36 years) living in Secunda/eMbalenhle and Sasolburg/Zamdela. Participants were sampled at baseline (wave 1) and 18–24 months later (wave 3). They self‐reported experience of community violence, family adversity, resilience‐enabling resources, conduct difficulties, and depression symptoms. Regression analyses were used to examine the unadjusted and adjusted association of family adversity on conduct problem and depression.ResultsAbout 60% of participants reported high family adversity. Regressions, however, revealed no association between family adversity and conduct problems and depression cross‐sectionally and over time. Individual resilience, biological sex, and experience of victimization in the community, however, were associated with conduct difficulty while all three resilience factors were associated with decreased depression among participants.ConclusionOur study sheds light on the risk and protective factors for mental health outcomes of adolescents and youths who reside in volatile, turbulent communities and experience ongoing familial challenges. To effectively support the mental well‐being of young individuals in such contexts, interventions must consider the potential ambivalence of the resilience factors they aim to strengthen.

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Punishment and Inequality at an Early Age: Exclusionary Discipline in Elementary School

Cited by 45 publications

References 42 publications

School punishment and interpersonal exclusion: Rejection, withdrawal, and separation from friends

School punishment and interpersonal exclusion: Rejection, withdrawal, and separation from friends

The Intergenerational Stability of Punishment: Paternal Incarceration and Suspension or Expulsion in Elementary School

The association between family adversity and youth mental health outcomes

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