STUDENT SOCIAL STRUCTURES AND/OR SUBCULTURES AS FACTORS IN SCHOOL CRIME - TOWARD A PARADIGM

• NCJ Number: 67210
• Journal: Adolescence Volume: 15 Issue: 57 Dated: (SPRING 1980) Pages: 13-22
• Author(s): C E TYGART
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 10 pages
• Corporate Author: Libra Publishers, Inc
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

STUDENT SOCIAL STRUCTURES AND SUBCULTURES ARE EXAMINED TO DETERMINE THEIR POTENTIAL FOR INFLUENCING SCHOOL CRIME. THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO DEVELOP A PATTERN OF QUESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH.

Abstract

MOST THEORIES OF THE PAST TWO DECADES CONCLUDE THAT SCHOOL CRIME LARGELY OCCURS IN THE CONTEXT OF TWO COMPETING SOCIAL STRUCTURES: THE NONCRIMINAL STRUCTURE AND THE CRIMINAL STRUCTURE. HOWEVER, THESE THEORIES HAVE INADEQUATELY CONSIDERED THE TYPES OF COMMITMENTS YOUTH MIGHT HAVE TOWARD THESE STRUCTURES. STUDENT SOCIAL STRUCTURES AND SUBCULTURES ARE A THIRD CLUSTER OF CONCEPTS AND VARIABLES WHICH MIGHT DIFFER FROM THOSE OF EITHER THE LEGITIMATE CULTURE OR THE CRIMINAL SUBCULTURE. SURVEYS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY STUDENTS INDICATED, FOR EXAMPLE, A LESSENING COMMITMENT TO CONVENTIONAL VALUES AND AN INCREASING CYNICISM BETWEEN 1968 AND 1976. SOME RESEARCH ALSO INDICATES THAT THE GREATER THE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS IN A POPULATION, THE GREATER THE STRENGTH OF THE STUDENT SUBCULTURE. STUDENTS' EXCESSIVE DRUG USAGE ILLUSTRATES THE ADDITIONAL INSIGHTS WHICH MIGHT BE GAINED BY CONSIDERING STUDENT SOCIAL STRUCTURES AND/OR SUBCULTURES. IN SOME SITUATIONS THESE INSIGHTS SUGGEST THAT LESS INVOLVEMENT IN STUDENT ACTIVITIES MIGHT BE ENCOURAGED. RESEARCH IS NEEDED ON SUCH ISSUES AS WHETHER STUDENTS' COMMITMENTS TO THE CRIMINAL SUBCULTURE ARE A TEMPORARY OR A PERMANENT LIFESTYLE AND WHETHER SUCH COMMITMENTS REPRESENT AN INDIVIDUALISTIC, OPPORTUNISTIC COMMITMENT. FACTORS INFLUENCING THE STRENGTH OF STUDENT SUBCULTURES SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED, AND DRUG PUSHING SHOULD BE STUDIED TO DETERMINE WHETHER STUDENT INVOLVEMENT IN THIS ACTIVITY IS AN ATTEMPT TO ADVANCE POSITIONS IN THE CRIMINAL WORLD OR AN ATTEMPT TO GAIN STATUS IN THE STUDENT CULTURE. FINALLY, POSSIBLE MODIFICATION OF STUDENT SOCIAL STUCTURES TO MAKE THEM MORE SUPPORTIVE OF THE LEGIMATE CULTURE SHOULD BE RESEARCHED. A REFERENCE LIST IS INCLUDED. (CFW)