PREDICTING THE ARREST STATUS OF ADOLESCENTS WITH DISABILITIES IN TRANSITION

The purposes of this study were to (a) explore predictors of arrest st atus with a sample of adolescents with disabilities while in school an d (b) examine whether predictors of in-school arrest status would also predict arrest status 1 year out of school. Student and parent interv iews were conducted while students were still in school and then 1 yea r after leaving school. Logistic regression analyses revealed an assoc iation between demonstrating lower personal/social-achievement skills and being arrested. In addition, gender and disability status each was associated with being arrested: Males with disabilities were more lik ely than females with disabilities to be arrested sometime in their sc hool career and 1 year out of school; individuals identified with seri ous emotional disturbance (SED) or-specific learning disabilities (SLD ) were more likely to be arrested sometime in their school career and 1 year out of school than individuals with disabilities who were not i dentified as SED or SLD. Furthermore, being arrested at least once whi le in school was a powerful predictor of being arrested 1 year out of school. Finally, persons who were identified as SLD and who had droppe d out of school were substantially more likely to be arrested 1 year o ut of school than persons with disabilities with only one of these cha racteristics.