Drop in, drop out, or stay on: Patterns and predictors of panel attrition among young people

Longitudinal transition studies are central to youth research but face particular challenges owing to panel attrition. While adolescents can be easily reached through institutions, their lives change after they leave school. Consequently, keeping them in further panel waves becomes more difficult. This methodological paper explores factors that are related to different patterns of panel attrition. In addition to general factors of survey participation associated with socio-demographic variables, such as gender and social background, we also consider aspects related to the survey topic which could influence patterns of attrition, such as career choice, and the survey experience (i.e., the evaluation of the questionnaire in the first wave). We use data from a five-wave panel study with young people in Vienna. About 3000 respondents participated in the first survey wave during their last year in general-track secondary school (2017–2018 academic year), and they were then surveyed annually over the next four years (2019–2022). We find that a group of respondents remain continuously in the panel, while some drop out permanently at some point and others drop out temporarily but drop in again later. Based on logistic regression models, the results show that gender, migration background, parental occupational status, and school grades are related to patterns of attrition. The survey experience in the first wave is partly related to these factors. Our results can inform future studies regarding causes for and consequences of panel attrition.