EXCLUSIONARY DISCIPLINE AS A SOCIAL DETERMINANT OF DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR AND ARREST: A MIXED METHODS STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF STRUCTURAL RACISM ON THE SCHOOL-TO-PRISON PIPELINE

Background: Exclusionary discipline is a common practice in schools nationwide, yet public health scholars suggest it be considered a social determinant of health due to its negative impact on health and wellbeing. While racial disparities in the impacts of exclusionary discipline are well documented, there has not yet been an examination of how school structural racism may play a role in this phenomenon. This dissertation used two novel measures of school structural racism to examine the associations between exclusionary discipline and behavioral and criminalization outcomes for Black and White students.Methods: I conducted an explanatory sequential mixed methods study. In Aim 1, I used nationally representative data (n= 16,971) from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to examine the moderating effects of school-level structural racism and student race on the association between exclusionary discipline and delinquency and juvenile and adult arrest. In Aim 2, I conducted and analyzed interviews (n=42) with adults who were suspended or expelled from North Carolina schools during adolescence to investigate the influence of school-level structural racism on the pathway between discipline and long-term wellbeing.Results: Quantitative findings demonstrated that both structural racism measures moderated the effects of exclusionary discipline on delinquency and adult arrest for Black versus White students, such that higher structural racism strengthened the associations for Black students. In some cases, higher structural racism weakened these associations for White students. Neither measure of school-level structural racism moderated the association between exclusionary discipline and juvenile arrest. Qualitative explanatory findings revealed mechanisms underlying these associations, including via labeling, interpersonal relationships with school staff, and intimate partner violence. Results also illuminated long-term impacts of exclusionary discipline on educational attainment, job opportunities, mental health and substance use, all of which support the classification of exclusionary discipline as a social determinant of health.Conclusions: This dissertation work demonstrates that measures of school structural racism help explain the differential health, behavior, and criminalization impacts of exclusionary discipline for Black versus White students. Results from this study provide both evidence and explanation for race-related effects of the School-to-Prison Pipeline.