High School Substance Use as a Predictor of College Attendance, Completion, and Dropout: A National Multicohort Longitudinal Study

Megan E. Patrick, John E. Schulenberg, Patrick M. O’Malley

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

60 Scopus citations

Abstract

National data from Monitoring the Future were used to examine patterns and predictors of college attendance. Samples of American 12th-grade students from 1977 to 2003 were followed for 7 years (modal ages 18-25; N = 10,020). College attendance and graduation patterns varied considerably over historical time and based on family background. Substance use during high school predicted a greater likelihood of never attending (for cigarettes, illegal drugs), of graduating from a 2-year rather than a 4-year school (for cigarettes), and of dropping out versus graduating from a 4-year school (for cigarettes, marijuana, and other illegal drugs). High school binge drinking predicted lower college dropout, but only in models also controlling for cigarette, marijuana, and other illicit drug use. This study provides a needed overview of adolescent predictors of patterns of college attendance among American young adults over the past three decades.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)425-447
Number of pages23
JournalYouth and Society
Volume48
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1 2016
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2013, © The Author(s) 2013.

Keywords

  • 2-year college
  • 4-year college
  • college dropout
  • substance use

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