Examination of bidirectional association of conduct and emotional problems with school exclusion and truancy: Evidence from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: This study examines school exclusion and truancy in relation to both conduct and emotional problems. It considers these mental health problems both as predictors and as outcomes of school exclusion and truancy.METHOD: The sample included 15,236 individuals from the Millennium Cohort Study, a UK longitudinal birth cohort study. Using subscales of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, conduct and emotional problems were assessed through childhood to adolescence (age 3, 5, 7, 11, 14 and 17 years), and reports of school exclusion and truancy were collected at age 11 and 14. RESULTS: Conduct problems during childhood were associated with subsequent exclusion and truancy in early adolescence in both males and females, but childhood emotional symptoms showed no such association. Prior exclusion was associated with an increase in conduct problems at age 14 for both genders, and for males it was also associated with an increase in emotional symptoms both at age 14 and 17. Prior truancy was associated with an increase in conduct problems at age 14 for both genders, and for females also at age 17, and it was associated with increased emotional symptoms at age 14 and 17 for both genders.CONCLUSION: Overall results indicate a bidirectional association between conduct problems and school exclusion and truancy. For emotional symptoms, the association is unidirectional as these symptoms do not lead to exclusions or truancy. However, an increase in emotional symptoms may be a consequence of exclusion and truancy.