Poor school bonding and delinquency over time: Bidirectional effects and sex differences

Abstract

The association between poor school bonding and delinquency has only been partly addressed in earlier research. Using a longitudinal design, the objective of our study was to investigate possible bidirectional effects and sex differences between adolescents’ experienced school bonding and self‐rated delinquency over time. A total of 788 adolescents (353 boys and 435 girls) were investigated by questionnaire at age 14 and 16. Poor school attachment and commitment as well as poor teacher attachment were found to be stronger determinants of delinquency for males than for females. Delinquency predicted poor school commitment for both boys and girls, and poor school attachment for girls, thus indicating bidirectional effects over time and sex differences in some of the bidirectional effects. The study concludes that the delinquency propensity of adolescent boys may be affected by all school bonding dimensions, whereas for girls it is their relationship with their teachers that is of significance.

Trajetórias escolares de adolescentes em conflito com a lei

“…Há, entretanto, adolescentes que se envolvem com a prática de atos infracionais de modo mais sério, seja pela frequência e/ou pela gravidade das ações. O comportamento nesse subgrupo encontra-se, geralmente, associado à sua exposição a inúmeros fatores de risco, situados em diferentes contextos: família, escola, grupo de pares e no contexto da comunidade de residência (FORMIGA, 2010;JANOSZ;LEBLANC, 1999;LARANJEIRA, 2007;LILJEBERG et al, 2011;ZHANG et al, 2010).…”

“…Assim, se a experiência escolar é positiva, é nesse ambiente que os adolescentes investem boa parte de seu tempo diário, participando de atividades educacionais que favorecem o desenvolvimento cognitivo, emocional e social (MASCHIA et al, 2008). Uma boa vinculação à escola desponta como um dos fatores protetivos mais robustos ao engajamento sério de jovens com a prática de delitos (LEBLANC, 1994;LILJEBERG et al, 2011;VAN DER LAAN;BLOM;KLEEMANS, 2009).…”

Lived Experiences of Egyptian Female Juvenile Delinquents: Phenomenological Approach

“…Furthermore, adolescents reporting poor school bonding display more problem behaviors such as delinquency (Liljeberg et al, 2011); bad company, the confluence of low emotional connectedness with school coupled with association with delinquent peers is likely to result in initiation of and continued involvement in delinquency (Li et al, 2011); and dropping out of school, the importance of school failure in the development of delinquency figures much larger in the lives of girls. Additionally, girls are 7 times more likely to drop out of school for family purposes (Weijters et al, 2009).…”

The unique and interactive effects of parent and school bonds on adolescent delinquency

“…In conjunction with the social, emotional and physical changes associated with adolescence, environmental shifts (most prominently, the transition into middle school) may introduce additional stress that put youth at risk for academic underperformance, substance use and delinquent behavior (Gutman & Eccles, 2007). Positive adult relationships, such as those adolescents form with parents and teachers, may help to buffer against this stress and have been associated with reduced risky behavior, including delinquency (Cernkovich & Giordano, 1987; Demuth & Brown, 2004; Ingram et al, 2007; Kierkus & Baer, 2002; Liljeberg, Eklund, Fritz & Klinteberg, 2011; Maddox & Prinz, 2003; Sokol-Katz, Dunham, & Zimmerman, 1997; Wang & Eccles, 2012). Though parent and school bonds have been studied extensively independently of each other, less is known about how these parent and school relationships work together to influence adolescent behavior, whether they affect boys and girls differently and whether they are especially imperative during school transitions.…”

“…School bonding - and teacher-student bonding in particular - has been examined as an important factor in children’s likelihood to experience a number of maladaptive behaviors, such as academic underachievement, delinquency and substance use - with students who have closer bonds to their schools showing fewer maladaptive behaviors (Liljeberg et al, 2011; Maddox & Prinz, 2003; Wang & Eccles, 2012). Using longitudinal data, Liljeberg and colleagues (2011) found that school bonding at age 14 (especially, relationships and security with teachers) was associated with reduced delinquency among adolescents at age 16.…”