NCJ Number
173314
Journal
Free Inquiry in Creative Sociology Volume: 26 Issue: 1 Dated: May 1998 Pages: 11-21
Date Published
1998
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This paper looks at the link between several social bonding components, including rejection by parents, rejection by teachers, and disaffection from the conventional community, and juvenile violence.
Abstract
These components were used as predictor variables in a causal model that examined their direct and indirect effects on juvenile violence. Data were obtained from a 1994 survey of 172 male 7th and 8th grade students in an eastern Ohio urban school system. To compare the reliability of the components across racial groups, separate path analyses were conducted for black and white youths. Dependent variables included five indexes: starting a fistfight, carrying a weapon, taking part in gang fights, beating someone up without cause, and using force to get money or valuables from another person. Differences in the strength of the predictive ability of the social bonding components were found across racial groups. Although rejection by parents proved to be the most significant predictor variable for blacks, this component was not significant for whites. Disaffection with the conventional community was the most important predictor of violent behavior by white youths. The causal model explained more of the variance in violence for black than for white youths. No differences were observed between the two racial groups with respect to the rate of violent behavior. 20 references and 2 tables