The Effect of School Punishment on Subsequent Antisocial Behavior: A Propensity Score Matching Approach

• In Event: The Impact of Formal Intevention on Subsequent Development and Offending

Abstract

Previous research indicates that punishment by schools (e.g. detention, suspension) has negative outcomes for children’s development. In particular, some studies argue that harsh school punishments are linked with negative externalities such as social exclusion, drop-out and failure in school (e.g. Skiba, Michael, Nardo, & Peterson, 2002 Skiba & Rausch, 2006; Sharkey & Fenning, 2012). Although some research has intended to analyse the link between school punishments and antisocial behaviours (e.g. Costenbader & Markson, 1998; Hemphill & Hargreaves, 2010), it is still far from controlling confounding factors (Challen & Walton, 2004).

The present piece of research is aimed at testing the effect of school punishment on a general population of students based on prospective longitudinal data. By using a propensity score matching approach, we intend to compare the punished children with a matched control group of non-punished children. We hypothesise that punishment can lead to an increase in subsequent antisocial outcomes (e.g. aggression).

The study (N≅700) uses data from waves 3 to 6 of the Zurich Project on the Social Development of Children (Eisner & Ribeaud 2005). Data has been collected annually from multiple informants (i.e. parents, children and teachers).

Authors

• Sara Valdebenito, University of Cambridge

• Manuel Eisner, University of Cambridge