Does the Relationship Between Poor Reading and Delinquency Hold for Males of Different Ages and Ethnic Groups?

Abstract

The study examines the relationship between reading and delinquency for three large community samples of first-, fourth-, and seventh-grade African-American and white boys. Reading was correlated with delinquency, independent of neighborhood, SES, ethnicity, and family involvement effects. Although more African-American boys were delinquent than white boys, the likelihood of delinquency for boys with lower reading performance was the same in each ethnic group. Older boys with poor reading performance did not have a higher probability of delinquency than younger boys with poor reading performance. Thus, the association between reading performance and delinquency appears constant over the age range studied. When attention problems was entered as a control variable, it overshadowed reading performance in its association with delinquency. The seriousness of delinquent acts linearly increased the worse the reading performance for white boys in all three grades and for African-American boys in two out of the three grades. However, this linear relationship disappeared when attention problems were taken into account.

Young Offenders' Perceptions of School: An Ecological Analysis

“…Findings from this study support the commonly held view that cognitive delays and low academic achievement are associated with offending (Farrington, 2005;Maguin et al, 1993). This study found, however, that the relationships are complex: although low IQ is associated with low school achievement and school failure, factors that are largely independent of IQ also contribute to low academic achievement and school failure.…”

“…Some studies suggest that intellectual disability and low academic achievement precede offending behaviour (Allerton et al, 2003;Farrington, 1995;Kenny et al, 2006;Maguin, Loeber, & LeMahieu, 1993;Vermeiren, De Clippele, Schwab-Stone, Ruchkin, & Deboutte, 2002). Some argue that juveniles with low school achievement develop fewer bonds with the school and community (Shochet, Dadds, Ham, & Montague, 2006).…”

Reading Problems and Antisocial Behaviour: Developmental Trends in Comorbidity

“…More specific links with reading problems have been much debated (Brier, 1989;Cornwell & Bawden, 1992). Wadsworth (1979), for example, found that associations between early reading scores and later offending largely reflected variations in social class and birth order, while Maguin, Loeber and LeMathieu (1993) identified attentional problems as a further 'third variable' that could account for reading performance-delinquency associations. In our own earlier study of reading retarded boys, rates of officially recorded juvenile delinquency were elevated, but not significantly so, among poor readers without behaviour problems (Maughan et al, 1985).…”

Early disruptive behavior, IQ, and later school achievement and delinquent behavior

“…However, an alternative explanation is that the association between school failure and delinquency may be noncausal and arise from common antecedent factors which are associated with both increased risks of academic problems and increased risks of delinquency (Hinshaw, 1992). These factors may include early disruptive behavior patterns (Fergusson, Horwood, & Lynskey, 1993;Maguin et al, 1993; Treml l l Fig. la.…”

“…1969; Maguin, Loeber, & LeMahieu, 1993;Tracy, Wolfgang, & Figlio, 1990;Tremblay et al, 1992). The persistent association between academic achievement, learning delays, and delinquent behaviors has led to a search for an explanation of these associations.…”