This study explores the causal nature of the well established associat
ion between grade retention and later adolescent problem behaviors inc
luding delinquency, drug use, and dropout. It uses multiple regression
to examine retention effects on theoretical variables which might lin
k retention to problem behavior in a sample of mostly African-American
sixth and seventh graders in two urban middle schools. The study comp
ares the retained (n = 197) to the promoted (n = 204) students on meas
ures of the theoretical intervening variables 11 months after retentio
n. The retained students scored in the more negative direction on all
measures taken prior to the retention decision, but these differences
were diminished 11 months after the retention decision. Regression ana
lyses imply that retention reduced rebellious behavior in school and i
ncreased attachment to school. These effects were small but statistica
lly significant. No evidence of negative effects of grade retention wa
s found on the theoretical predictors of problem behavior examined in
this study.