Discrimination, Psychological Isolation, and Flight from School

Discrimination negatively impacts students’ ability to adapt to and deal with the educational stressors of a new environment. When students experience discrimination, their options are to fight, fawn, or flee—that is, skip school. This study focuses on the third option among refugee and immigrant students and addresses two inter-related issues: (a) the relationships between newcomer first-generation youth truancy and the perception of discrimination and psychological isolation in school, and (b) whether such relationships persist after employment, voluntary activities, or other socio-demographic factors are taken into account. The data source is a survey of immigrant and refugee students 14 to 24 years of age who attended school in a medium-sized city in Canada. Results show that experiences of discrimination and psychological isolation are significant predictors of truancy. I also find support for the effects of length of residency, paid employment, and participation in voluntary activities on increasing truancy, suggesting the importance of acculturation, socio-economic status, and time availability.