Kreisman's rejection scale, school dropout and drug use

The Kreisman Patient Rejection Scale-Revised Version assesses parental rejection and has been shown to relate to how soon schizophrenic children have to return to the hospital. The goal of this study was to determine if a mother's level of rejection, as measured by the Kreisman Scale, is associated with her adolescent son's dropout status and/or his drug use. Three groups of mothers of White American male adolescents are compared: (1) mothers of adolescents who have dropped out of school, (2) mothers of adolescents who have the same academic problems as dropouts but are still in school, and (3) mothers of randomly selected adolescents who are still in school.; The Kreisman Scale has a high reliability (.93) with this sample and can be used to study maternal rejection in families where the children are not emotionally disturbed. Nearly all mothers of dropouts have high rejection scores. Mothers of control students all have low rejection scores. Mothers of students at risk have an equal probability of having high or low rejection scores. Adolescent drug use is related to dropping out, and drug using youth have more rejecting mothers. However, knowing the amount of a son's drug use does not significantly add to the ability of school status to accurately predict mother's level of rejection.; The relationship found between dropping out and maternal rejection is probably disruptive for mother, son, and the family as a whole. Treatment for adolescent sons at risk academically might help them negotiate mutually agreed upon appropriate adolescent behaviors and generate more parental acceptance. Parental education or family counseling which focuses on reducing rejection may subsequently reduce dropout potential or help the dropout return to school, or lessen drug use.