School Delinquency and the School Social Bond

Abstract

Using data from a sample of 754 middle school students in Grades 7 and 8, this article examines the independent effects of the four components of the school social bond—school commitment, attachment to school, school involvement, and belief in school rules—on school crime, school misconduct, and school nonattendance. The results suggest that personal background, family involvement in schooling, and ability grouping have differential effects on the school bond components. Also, an examination of the independent effects of the four components of the school social bond suggests that certain components are more important than others in controlling different types of school delinquency. These results suggest that the school social bond is an important intervening mechanism that helps to explain the effects of certain predictor variables on school crime, school misconduct, and nonattendance in middle schools.

School commitment and alcohol use: The moderating role of race and ethnicity.

“…As expected, Black students reporting lower school commitment are more likely to use alcohol than their counterparts. This finding is consistent with prior research that has found low commitment to be associated with substance use (Hawkins et al, 1992;Jenkins, 1997;Krohn & Massey, 1980;Mason & Windle, 2001). For Hispanic students, five of the control variables are found to be associated with the likelihood of alcohol use, and all of these associations are in the expected direction.…”

“…Prior studies of the association between school bonds and alcohol use have largely found that the stronger a student's affective bond to schooling and commitment to educational goals, the less likely that student is to engage in delinquency (Anderson, Holmes & Ostresh, 1999;Crum, Ensminger, Ro & McCord, 1998;Jenkins, 1997) and, more specifically, substance use (Bahr, Marcos, Anastasios & Maughan, 1995;Costa, Jessor & Turbin, 1999;Mason & Windle, 2001;SimonsMorton, et al, 1999;Sutherland & Shepherd, 2001). While these studies have increased our understanding of the association between various school bonds (including school commitment) and teen delinquency, important questions remain unanswered.…”

“…Criminologists have found that other school related variables, including school commitment, are strong predictors of delinquency and teen substance use (Anderson, et al, 1999;Bahr et al, 1995;Costa, et al, 1999;Crum et al, 1998;Hawkins, Catalano & Miller, 1992;Jenkins, 1997;Jessor, Van Den Bos, Vanderryn, Costa & Turbin, 1995;Maguin & Loeber, 1996;Mason & Windle, 2001;Simons-Morton et al, 1999;Sutherland & Shepherd, 2001). Indeed, some scholars have suggested that school bonds are among the strongest predictors of delinquency and substance use (Empey, 1982;Kelly & Balch, 1971).…”

“…Yet there are reasons to suspect that such factors might not be similarly related to alcohol use across racial and ethnic groups. A number of studies have found that Blacks and other minorities perform more poorly in school than Whites and demonstrate lower levels of commitment to school than Whites (Fordham & Ogbu, 1986;Jenkins, 1995Jenkins, , 1997Steinberg, Brown & Dornbusch, 1996), suggesting that the school experience is qualitatively different for minorities and that such differences may affect the ability of school bonds to influence delinquent behavior (McAdoo, 1988; see also Cernkovich & Giordano, 1992). Research has identified several factors that may be predictive of lower commitment to educational goals and inferior academic performance in Nonwhites as compared to Whites: evidence of racial-bias in testing and student placement, lower teacher expectations for Black and Hispanic students as compared to Whites, belief among many Black and minority students that discriminatory mechanisms limit the opportunity to translate educational success into adult accomplishment, and the stigmatization of "acting white" directed by Black peers at Black students who work hard in school (Alexander, Entwisle & Bedinger, 1994;Cernkovich & Girodano, 1992;Farkas, Lleras & Maczuga, 2002;Johnson, Crosnoe & Elder, Jr., 2001;Ogbu, 1988Ogbu, , 1997.…”

“…Although there are many aspects of school bonds to examine, we focus on school commitment. We chose this focus in response to evidence suggesting that school commitment is the strongest of the school bonds in predicting delinquency (Jenkins, 1997;Krohn & Massey, 1980).…”