This book is the third in a series of monographs documenting the Youth in Transition project, a longitudinal study of young men conducted by the Survey Research Center under the primary sponsorship of the United States Office of Education. Some major issues in the study of dropouts and the research design are presented. Other chapters deal with family background and ability; school experiences and attitudes; personality and behavior dimensions; job outcomes of dropouts and graduates; and, the dropouts' own views about why they left school and what it has meant to them. There is a summary and evaluation of all those factors predicting short-range and longer-range implications. (Author/JM)