# School Suspension as a Predictor of Young Adult Homelessness: The International Youth Development Study

## TL;DR

School suspension in adolescence is linked to homelessness in young adulthood, suggesting that preventing suspensions could help reduce homelessness.

## Contribution

This study identifies school suspension as a key predictor of young adult homelessness using cross-national longitudinal data.

## Key findings

- Over half of young adults who experienced homelessness at age 25 had been suspended from school.
- School suspension in middle school predicts homelessness in young adulthood.
- Adolescent behaviors like rebelliousness and substance use increase the likelihood of suspension and indirectly homelessness.

## Abstract

School suspension in adolescence has been shown to predict homelessness in young adulthood, suggesting that it may be a point of intervention to reduce young adult homelessness. Under zero tolerance policies, school suspension is more common in the United States relative to Australia. Multilevel modeling of cross-national longitudinal data from the International Youth Development Study tested prospective associations between adolescent problem behaviors, student-perceived likelihood of suspension/expulsion, school-level behavior management policy, and young adult homelessness. Population-based samples of participants from Washington State (United States) and Victoria (Australia) were surveyed at ages 13, 14, 15 (2002–2004), and 25 years (2014–15; n = 1945; 51% female). Over half of the young adults who reported homelessness within the previous year at age 25 had experienced school suspension. Individual-level school suspension in middle school predicted young adult homelessness. Higher levels of adolescent rebelliousness, non-violent and violent antisocial behavior, and substance use predicted a higher likelihood of school suspension at the person-level and were indirectly related to increased risk for homelessness at age 25. School behavior management policy was not related to a history of school suspension at either the person- or school-level once individual factors were controlled. Findings demonstrate the importance of school suspension as a risk factor for future homelessness and suggest that prevention programming that aims to mitigate substance use, antisocial behaviors, and school suspension may help to reduce young adult homelessness.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10935-025-00829-y.