The role of delay of gratification, substance abuse, and violent behavior on academic achievement of disciplinary alternative middle school students

•Individual differences exist in a disciplinary alternative school.•Delay gratification is positively associated with high academic performance.•Violent behavior is negatively associated with academic performance.•Substance abuse is negatively associated with academic performance.•Socio-economic status was not significantly associated with math test scores.

Disciplinary alternative education programs are academic environments where students are detained for 45 days by the county or court for delinquent and/or deviant behavior in their traditional schools. This study examined individual differences in academic performance, violence, willingness to delay gratification, and substance abuse of 391 students enrolled in a disciplinary alternative middle school program. Results revealed that students who reported a high propensity to delay gratification and low tendencies towards violent behavior and substance abuse obtained high math scores on the state standardized test. In addition, the negative association between violent behavior on math scores was attenuated by race/ethnicity status. Socio-economic status was not significantly associated with math test scores. Implications for further studies and educational implications are discussed.