The School-To-Prison Pipeline: An Examination of the Association Between Suspension and Justice System Involvement

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to contribute to understanding the school-to-prison pipeline by examining the extent to which low school commitment and deviant peer association mediate the relationship between suspension by age 12 and justice system involvement by age 18. The analysis was performed in two steps using structural equation modeling and data from the LONGSCAN study ( N = 837). Results of the full model indicate that suspension by the age of 12 is associated with justice system involvement directly and indirectly. Directly, youth who are suspended by age 12 are more likely to report justice system involvement at age 18; indirectly, these youth are more likely to associate with deviant peers in adolescence, increasing their odds of justice system involvement.