Décrochage scolaire au secondaire : synergie entre l’adversité familiale perdurant depuis l’enfance et l’exposition aux évènements stressants à l’adolescence
High school dropout is a major issue due to its individual and social costs. Recent studies suggest that dropping out results not only from exposure to long-term risk factors, but also from proximal exposure to stressful life events. According to the stress sensitization model, this apparent precipitating role of stressor exposure should be exacerbated among those exposed to family adversity during childhood. The goal of this study was to test this hypothesis, by examining (1) whether exposure to stressful events and the presence of family adversity during childhood were directly associated with high school dropout, and (2) whether this kind of adversity exacerbated the association between exposure to recent stressful events and high school dropout. These associations were tested within a sample (n = 545) of youths aged 16 years old on average (M = 16.5; SD = 0.9) recruited in 12 public high schools located in and around Montreal and overrepresenting early school leavers. After accounting for potential confounders, adolescents who had recently experienced severe stressful life events were found to be more at risk of dropping out, as were those with a history of follow-up with child protection services. However, dropping out was not more frequent among adolescents exposed to other forms of family adversity, namely the presence of family crises and parental chronic mental health problems. Also, the expected sensitization effects were not observed in moderation analyzes. These results partially aligned with hypotheses are discussed in terms of theoretical and practical implications.
Adolescents Childhood adversity Stressful life events High school dropout