1 Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, 3700 McTavish Street, Montreal H3A 1Y2, Quebec, Canada. Electronic address: marianne.lau@mail.mcgill.ca.
2 Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, 3700 McTavish Street, Montreal H3A 1Y2, Quebec, Canada. Electronic address: carolineelizabeth.temcheff@mcgill.ca.
3 Department of Educational Science, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 allée des Ursulines, Rimouski G5L 3A1, Quebec, Canada. Electronic address: martine_poirier@uqar.ca.
4 Department of Psychology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke West, PY-146, Montreal H4B 1R6, Quebec, Canada.
5 Faculty of Education, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 boul. de l'Université, Sherbrooke J1K 2R1, Quebec, Canada. Electronic address: michele.dery@usherbrooke.ca.

School dropout can be an ongoing process of academic failure and disengagement starting as early as elementary school. Given the multitude of factors involved and the importance of early identification of vulnerabilities, this study examined whether (a) initial levels of conduct problems and depressive symptoms predicted school dropout, (b) the rate of change in conduct problems and depressive symptoms predicted dropout, (c) the interaction between trajectories of conduct problems and depressive symptoms affected the likelihood of dropout, and (d) whether there were sex differences in these associations. Using a dataset of 364 children ages 6-9 (T1) years who had displayed conduct problems, mean trajectories of conduct problems and depressive symptoms over 6 years were drawn using parallel process latent growth curve modeling. Results showed that both the initial levels of and rate of change in conduct problems predicted dropout, whereas trajectories of depressive symptoms did not. The interaction between trajectories of conduct problems and depressive symptoms was non-significant and sex differences were not observed. These results suggest that, for boys and girls presenting early conduct problems, although a higher initial levels of conduct problems increases the risk of school dropout, a larger decrease in these problems over time may reduce this likelihood. Recognizing and treating conduct problems consistently may be crucial in reducing the risk of dropout in children with early-onset issues.