The Effects of a Truancy Reduction Program on Antisocial Behavior: Age, Race, and Sex Differences

Abstract Past research from the Ability School Engagement Program (ASEP), a third-party policing intervention designed to increase school attendance, finds the program is able to reduce self-reported antisocial behavior up to two years following program participation. This research further explores the generalizability of these effects and assesses whether the effects of ASEP on self-reported antisocial behavior varied by different age, race, and sex characteristics of young people in the study at one- and two-years post randomization. Data for this study come from 102 young people who participated in the ASEP, which was designed to increase school attendance and reduce antisocial behavior through a conference with police, schools, young people, and their parents in Brisbane, Australia. There were no statistically significant interactions between the condition and predictors on self-reported antisocial behavior at the one-year mark. However, young people in the experimental group who were in secondary school during the intervention had significantly lower odds of self-reported antisocial behavior relative to secondary students in the control group at two years post-randomization. Results suggest that ASEP may be more effective at reducing self-reported antisocial behavior among adolescents in secondary school.