NCJ Number
161962
Date Published
1996
Length
120 pages
Annotation
This paper presents the findings of a meta-analysis of quantitative relations between educational success and delinquency.
Abstract
The study first provides a quantitative summary of the magnitude of the cross-sectional and longitudinal association between academic performance and delinquency and to determine whether this association is different for persons of different ages, gender, or ethnicity. Second, it identifies which variables have common relationships with both academic performance and delinquency and which variables are related either to academic performance or delinquency but not to both. Third, the study determines the magnitude of improvement in academic performance and delinquency that intervention studies have shown, which program components were most likely responsible for these improvements, and whether improvements in academic performance lead to improvements in offending or vice-versa. The study found that children with lower academic performance offended more often, committed more serious and violent offenses, and persisted in their offending. The association was stronger for males than females and for whites than for African-Americans. Academic performance predicted delinquency independent of socioeconomic status. Using law-related or moral education components with adolescent children and self-control, social skills, and parent training components with young school-age children were found to achieve significant improvements in academic performance and delinquency. 10 tables and 136 references