Osuđeni na socijalnu isključenost? Životni uvjeti i kvaliteta življenja mladih bez završene srednje škole
Destined to Social Exclusion? Conditions and Quality of Life of High School Dropouts

Summary/Abstract: The article analyzes the differences in conditions and quality of life on representative samples of young adults (aged 18 – 25) who have dropped out of school before high school graduation (N=451) in comparison to those who have successfully completed the high school education (N=1096). The size and significance of differences were examined on composite variables covering areas of employment, living conditions, material resources, frequency of social contacts, and subjective well-being, which can all be considered as indicators of the umbrella construct of social exclusion. In addition, structural modeling was used to test the suitability of a hypothetical model which postulates causal relationship between early school dropout and a series of unfavorable social outcomes related to social exclusion. Results show statistically significant and sizeable differences in the social position between dropouts and high school graduates. Depending on the specific indicator, the average dropout falls into the category of 2 to 12% of socially most endangered persons of comparable age. It was also shown that the analyzed model, which assumes the dropout to be the (direct or indirect) causative agent of adverse social outcomes, explains well the empirical data. The interpretations and implications of such results were further discussed.

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