School Truants and Truancy Motivation Sorted out with Multidimensional Scaling

Abstract

A combination of established and novel multivariate techniques was applied to the problem of school truancy. Informants described 104 truants they were acquainted with by ranking the applicability of 73 motives and causes for absence from school. Individual rankings were analyzed in the context of a multidimensional representation of the motives, derived from sorting data provided by other informants. Each ranking was interpreted as a three-dimensional vector within this “similarity space” and as a profile of 10 weights indicating the contributions of 10 “hotspots” (broad themes summarizing the motives) located in the space. The broad spectrum of motivational profiles was subdivided using clustering techniques. Five main relatively homogeneous clusters emerged, of which two cover a previously recognized pattern of parent-condoned truancy, whereas the other three are related to recognized syndromes of adolescent delinquency. There may be considerable differences between these clusters in terms of developmental antecedents, prognosis, and most effective form of intervention.