Citation

Mazerolle L, Antrobus E, Bennett S, Eggins E. Prev. Sci. 2017; 18(4): 469-480.

Affiliation

School of Social Science, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s11121-017-0771-7

PMID

28317075

Abstract

Truancy is a major social issue that is linked to a range of poor outcomes across the life course, including poor educational outcomes, drug and alcohol abuse, and antisocial behavior. Interventions that seek to reduce truancy problems range from school-based police officers to programs that reward good attendance to community-based interventions. This study reports primary outcome results of a randomized trial of a collaborative, police-school partnership that sought to reduce truancy and increase students' willingness to attend school. Using school attendance and students' self-report survey data, we find that the police-school partnership intervention shows promise for reducing truancy and improving students' willingness to attend school. We conclude that police-school partnerships that foster the willingness of young people to attend school should be examined in future evaluation research and be considered in the development of truancy prevention programs.

Language: en

Keywords

Delinquency; Police partnerships; School attendance; Schools; Truancy