The Role of Adolescent Anxious Mood, Marijuana Use, and Locus of Control in the School to Prison Pipeline.

Racial disparities are evident in both educational outcomes and incarceration rates when comparing African American and white youth. It is essential to understand the school-to-prison pipeline and the ways in which school discipline practices and other factors disproportionately affect African American students, limit educational attainment, and increase risk for future incarceration in order to improve students' educational and life outcomes. This study explores how marijuana, anxiety and locus of control interact with school disciplinary practices in pushing students out of schools and into the criminal justice system. Analyses utilizing data from the Woodlawn Study, a longitudinal study of African Americans followed from first grade through adolescence, young adulthood, and midlife (n = 1,242), reveal that suspension or expulsion, frequent marijuana use, and locus of control (males only) all predict criminal justice system involvement above and beyond not graduating from high school, but do not interact significantly. This study offers avenues for intervention to reduce disparities.

Associations Between Family Factors, Social Integration, and Suicidal Ideation Across the Life Course of an Urban African American Cohort.

Suicide is a problem on the rise but not studied extensively among African Americans. It is critical to identify risk factors for suicidal ideation to reduce risk. This study examines whether family and social factors over the life course predict suicidal ideation among African American adults in midlife. We conducted multiple logistic regression analyses on data from a longitudinal cohort of African Americans first assessed in childhood to identify associations with suicidal ideation in midlife (ages 33-42). Findings suggested living without one's mother in childhood (vs. living with mother alone; aOR = 3.69, p = .017) and parental rule-setting in adolescence (aOR = 0.79, p = .047) were associated with suicidal ideation. Having a lifetime drug disorder (aOR = 2.19, p = .046) or major depression by young adulthood (aOR = 3.58, p < .001) was also associated with an increased risk of suicidal ideation. Findings highlight the importance of intervention for children in mother-absent homes for improving mental health outcomes. Family interventions that promote parental rule-setting and addressing drug problems and depressive symptoms early in the life course offer an area for intervention to reduce suicide over the long term.