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Cited by 40Education Discipline and InequalityYouth Substance Use and School AttendanceBullying, Victimization, and Aggression

London Education and Inclusion Project (LEIP): Results from a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial of an Intervention to Reduce School Exclusion and Antisocial Behavior

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Obsuth, Ingrid, Sutherland, Alex, Cope, Aiden, Pilbeam, Liv, Murray, Aja Louise, Eisner, Manuel·2017·Journal of Youth and Adolescence
DOI 10.1007/s10964-016-0468-4PMC PMC5306147
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Abstract

School exclusion as a disciplinary measure remains a controversial issue. In spite of numerous attempts to reduce this practice, no solutions with documented effectiveness exist. This article reports results of a cluster-randomized controlled field trial carried out in 36 schools across London. The trial is an independent evaluation of a 12-week-long intervention, Engage in Education-London (EiE-L), delivered by Catch22. The intervention was aimed at students in secondary school who are most at risk of school exclusion. It targeted their social communication and broader social skills with the aim of reducing school exclusions and problem behaviors. The study employed a multi-informant design that included students and teacher reports as well as official records for exclusions and arrests. Data were analyzed through intent-to-treat analyses based on self-reports from 644 students and 685 teacher reports for students who were nominated for the study and for whom data was available at baseline or post-intervention. At baseline data collection the students ranged in age from 12.85 to 15.03, with M = 14.03; 71 % were male and included a number of ethnic minorities, the largest of which was black African/black Caribbean comprising 40 % of the sample. The results suggested a small but statistically significant negative effect on the primary outcome of exclusion and null effects for the secondary outcomes that measured behavioral and socio-emotional outcomes. The study's findings are discussed in terms of the possible reasons for the null effects and negative (iatrogenic) effect.

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  • Obsuth et al. (2017) reported that iatrogenic effects were observable not only for exclusion but also for antisocial behaviour.

    “Results suggest that the iatrogenic effects were observable not only for exclusion but also for the case of antisocial behaviour.”

    From School‐Based Interventions for Reducing Disciplinary School Exclusion. An Updated Systematic Review (2025) · cites this paper as Obsuth et al. 2017

    The Discussion reports a potential negative effect on school exclusion, but says there were no significant differences in antisocial behaviour. The Results (Treatment Effects; page not available) show that the antisocial-behaviour estimate pointed in an iatrogenic direction, but it was not statistically significant. Thus, the source supports a harmful directional estimate for antisocial behaviour, not an established iatrogenic effect. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • The evaluation by Obsuth et al. (2017) reported that the intervention resulted in an increase in problematic behaviours.

    “For example, the evaluation by Obsuth et al. (2017) reported that the intervention resulted in an increase in problematic behaviours.”

    From School‐Based Interventions for Reducing Disciplinary School Exclusion. An Updated Systematic Review (2025) · cites this paper as Obsuth et al. (2017)

    The Discussion (page unavailable) reports that students in intervention schools were more likely than controls to self-report a recent school exclusion, suggesting a potential negative effect, but the authors urge caution. It reports no significant differences in antisocial behavior or delinquency. The claim overstates a possible increase in exclusions as an established increase in problematic behaviours caused by the intervention. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Obsuth, I., Sutherland, A., Cope, A., Pilbeam, L., Murray, A. L., & Eisner, M.
Affiliations
University of Cambridge (GB)
Corresponding author
Obsuth, Ingrid
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Youth and Adolescence
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2016-03-23
Volume
46
Issue
3
Pages
538-557
ISSN
  • 0047-2891 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-6601
DOI
10.1007/s10964-016-0468-4
PMC
PMC5306147
OpenAlex
W2297381063
Cited by
40
References
84
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 2
FWCI
14.79
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Youth and Adolescence (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Apollo (University of Cambridge) (acceptedVersion)
  • Edinburgh Research Explorer (University of Edinburgh) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
European Commission (VS/2012/0345)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Education › Education Discipline and Inequality
  • Social Sciences › Education › Youth Substance Use and School Attendance
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression
Keywords
school exclusion, antisocial behavior, social skills intervention, social communication, high school students, at-risk students, student discipline, social-emotional outcomes, iatrogenic disease, multi-informant assessment
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Antisocial Personality Disorder, Female, Humans, Juvenile Delinquency, London, Male, Schools, Students, Social Skills

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