The combined use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Demos Dropout Scale as predictors of risk for dropout status

Abstract

This study assessed personality and attitudinal variables as they related to risk for dropout status. Ninety-six male and female high school students from traditional and alternative settings completed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Demos Dropout Scale, and a demographic questionnaire. A discriminant analysis using four significant variables: (1) Sensing-Perceiving Personality Type; (2) Attitude Toward School Behavior; (3) Going to College; (4) Academic Subjects, correctly classified male students for at-risk versus not-at-risk status with an overall accuracy rate of 92.1%. No significant predictors were found for female students. The results of the present study corroborate the view that male sensing-perceiving type students may be at greater risk for academic failure in the traditional high school setting. Failure to establish a relationship for female students between sensing-perceiving personality type and at-risk status may have been attributable to an overall lower frequency of sensing-perceiving personality types in female students in the present study. The results of the study support the inclusion of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Demos Dropout Scale as part of a screening battery for assessing dropout potential in entry level male secondary school students. Issues related to the development of alternative educational strategies and programs in order to forestall the disenfranchisement of the male at-risk student were also discussed.