School Bonding, Race, and Delinquency*

Abstract

While there is considerable evidence that blacks experience school in qualitatively distinct ways from whites, there has been a general failure to examine racial variation in the impact of school variables on juvenile misconduct. The purpose of this research is to describe the manner in which school bonding affects delinquent conduct, focusing in particular on the role of the school in the delinquent involvement of black youths. Our orientation is primarily a control theory one that suggests that the greater the degree of school bonding the lesser the likelihood of involvement in delinquent activities. Our review of the literature leads us to expect differential levels of bonding by race and across varying racial environments of schools, with resulting differential effects on delinquency. On the basis of a neighborhood sample of 942 adolescents, we identijj seven distinct dimensions of school bonding. The analysis reveals that blacks are at least as strongly bonded to the school as whites, that our model explains comparable amounts of variance in delinquency across race-sex subgroups, and that the racial composition of the school is generally unimportant in conditioning the effect of school bonding on delinquency. While our findings are generally supportive of control theory, a model that purports to be invariant across race, gender, and socioeconomic boundaries, we caution that such a conclusion may be both premature and mistaken. We discuss the implications of these findings and suggest that they be interpreted within a framework that also considers family and peer bonding.School and school-related variables assume prominent roles in most major theories of delinquency: disorganized schools (cultural deviance theory), school environments that frustrate students' goals and aspirations (strain theory), a lack of attachment and commitment to the school (control theory), an educational system that provides an inferior education to poor and minority children (conflict theory), and the negative labeling of school failures and "troublemakers" (societal reaction theoryeall increase the likelihood of delinquency (Empey, 1982:289; Siegal and Senna, 1988:300) and/or school dropout (cf. Bachman and OMalley, 1978; Elliott, 1966; Elliott and Voss,

Girls' Self-Perception of Reputation and Delinquent Involvement

“…Results of the current study also support past studies that have shown that bonds to school are important factors in girls' delinquency (Anderson et al, 1999;Archwamety and Katsiyannis, 1998;Cernkovich and Giordano, 1992;Erickson et al, 2000;Hamalainen and Pulkkinen, 1995;Lewin et al, 1998;Rosenbaum and Lasley, 1990). The findings of this study underscore the need to examine school-related variables in the study of girls' delinquency.…”

Patterns of Competence and Adjustment Among Adolescents from Authoritative, Authoritarian, Indulgent, and Neglectful Homes: A Replication in a Sample of Serious Juvenile Offenders

“…The four indicators of academic competence were self-reported school grades, and three indicators of attachment to and engagement in school, from Cernkovich and Giordano (1992): school orientation (seven items, sample item: "Schoolwork is very important to me," α=.82); school engagement (three items, sample item: "When you last attended school, how many hours a week did you usually spend doing homework? ", α=.43); and bonding to teachers (three items, sample item: "Most of my teachers treat me fairly," α=.66).…”

Racial-ethnic self-schemas: Multidimensional identity-based motivation

“…Emotional Engagement with School: Bonding: Students rated their emotional bonding with school on a 6-item, 5-point scale (1= strongly disagree, 5= strongly agree, Cernkovich & Giordano, 1992), e.g. "I feel I really belong at school."…”