Dropout intentions in secondary education : Student temperament and achievement motivation as antecedents

Introduction As early school leaving and dropping out from education pose a challenge for later life adjustment, it is important to identify antecedent factors for the risk of school dropout to tailor individual support for adolescents. Consequently, this study examines the role of adolescents' motivational beliefs and behaviors (i.e., success expectations, planning, and task-avoidance) as well as their temperament (i.e., extraversion/surgency, negative affectivity, effortful control, and affiliativeness) in their dropout intentions in the first year of upper secondary education. Methods Participants were Finnish adolescents' (n = 536; 57% girls, mean age 12.39 at outset, standard deviation…