Adolescent Labeling, System Avoidance, and Education Outcomes through the Life Course

Abstract

Longitudinal study investigating whether 7th, 8th, and 9th grade students’ interactions with school and criminal justice authority figures affects educational outcomes in adolescence, emerging, and middle adulthood and if system avoidance mediates this relationship. School authority contact was more detrimental to school outcomes in all three time periods while justice authority contact was associated with less years of formal schooling completed in emerging and middle adulthood. Non- surveilling institution avoidance partially mediated the relationship between school authority contact and years of formal schooling completed in middle adulthood. School authority contact and mediation results are both novel contributions to the literature.