Interaction Effects Based on Class Level in an Explanatory Model of College Student Dropout Syndrome

A conceptual model of the factors affecting dropout syndrome (a combination of intent to leave, discussing leaving, and actual attrition) was developed emphasizing academic, social, and personal outcomes of the selection or socialization of students at an institution. The model was estimated using path analysis, and the intervening variables (college grades, institutional fit, and institutional commitment) were found to be important predictors of dropout syndrome. The variables in the model accounted for 27 to 47% of the variance in the criterion. Findings indicate that a student’s peers are more important agents of socialization than are informal faculty contacts, that students may play a more active role in their socialization than previously thought, and that college grades seem more the product of selection than socialization.