After interviewing hundreds of young people aged 16 to 17 who had recently dropped out or who were at risk of dropping out, Quebec researchers discovered that the presence of dropouts in the entourage of young people was a major risk factor. According to psychoeducation professor Véronique Dupéré, who worked on the study published in the Journal of Educational Psychology, this finding could help to make campaigns against dropping out of school more effective.
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It has long been known in the education community that the lack of family support in studies and school failure are factors that increase the risk of dropping out. But specialists also suspected that the social environment could have an influence, without however having measured it. This is why the group of researchers from the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM) and the University of Montreal decided to look into this aspect.
He found that young people are more at risk of dropping out when someone they know has recently left school. If we see someone else who is no longer in school and who has a job and a salary, that can give a certain model, and the idea of no longer going to school then becomes more concrete.
, says Véronique Dupéré.
She adds that this discovery shows the importance, when a young person drops out, to intervene quickly with his friends to prevent further dropouts.
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