Athletic Delinquency - A Preliminary Approach

• NCJ Number: 75019
• Author(s): J O Segrave
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 18 pages
• Sale Source: Eric Document Reproduction Service
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. Paper presented at the 94th Annual Convention of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education and Recreation in New Orleans, Louisiana, March 17th, 1979. Some of the information in this paper appears in another paper entitled, 'Athletics and Juvenile Delinquency.'

Annotation

A study investigating the relationship between athletics and delinquency is presented; types of delinquent behavior are differentiated.

Abstract

Findings are based upon data obtained from self-report questionnaires administered to 179 male students from three high schools. Questionnaires focused on selected characteristics of the sample, including age, social class, participation in athletics, self-reported acts of juvenile delinquency, and attitudes towards the seriousness of specific offenses. Social class background was analyzed from information concerning father's occupation, father's educational status, mother's educational status, and family income. Degree of participation in athletics was determined from the number of school athletic teams represented and the number of intramural teams represented. Twenty-four questions focused on delinquent behavior, and seriousness of offenses was taken from 24 attitude questions. For purposes of statistical analysis, the chi-square test was implemented. Overall study findings indicate a negative relationship between athletic participation and juvenile delinquency. Data support the deterrent hypothesis and show that athletes on the whole tend to be less delinquent than nonathletes. The study also suggests that the association between athletics and delinquency is a function of the degree of athletic participation, the type of offense, and the social class background of the subjects tested. Rates of delinquency among the present sample of athletes decreased significantly when the offense in question was categorized as more serious. Ths trend was particularly pertinent among the high social class group and among high social class athletes. Six tables, four references, and a brief bibliography are included with the study. (ERIC abstract modified).