International Summaries: Education and Delinquency: The Relation- ship Between Performance at School and Delinquency

• NCJ Number: 94337
• Author(s): J A Nijboer; F P H Dijksterhuis
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 4 pages
• Corporate Author: National Institute of Justice/NCJRS
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: NIJ/NCJRS international summary of "Onderwijs & delinquentie: de relatie tussen het functioneren op school en delinquentie" (NCJ-94511).

Annotation

This Dutch study of school-related delinquency factors found that negative labeling based in poor school achievement can be a factor in delinquency.

Abstract

A study population of 1,202 students aged 12 to 16 years was surveyed regarding functioning within the school setting, attitude toward school, student motivation and its encouragement in the school setting, student deviance and its correction within the classroom, expectations of student behavior in the future, and the use of and addiction to hazardous substances. The sample was also surveyed regarding participation in various delinquent acts. Correlations between crime variables and student functioning at school were examined within the framework of three theoretical approaches: the labeling perspective, the anomie approach, and the conflict approach. Findings suggest a relationship between educational performance and delinquency, with negative labeling based in school performance having a particularly devastating effect on the juvenile psyche. Negative labeling increases the likelihood that the student will seek acceptance in deviant subcultures.