Athletic Involvement and Adolescent Delinquency

• NCJ Number: 219212
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 36 Issue: 5 Dated: July 2007 Pages: 711-723
• Author(s): Kathleen E. Miller; Merrill J. Melnick; Grace M. Barnes; Don Sabo; Michael P. Farrell
• Date Published: July 2007
• Length: 13 pages
• Grant Number(s): DA13570-01
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study investigated how numerous factors associated with athletic involvement (self-reported jock identity, school athlete status, and frequency of athletic activity) impacted a range of delinquent behaviors.

Abstract

The results indicated that athletic involvement did not protect against opportunistic delinquent acts, including truancy and vandalism. The most significant predictor of involvement in delinquent behaviors was self-report jock identity. Moreover, this finding was significant across both gender and race. Neither school athlete status nor frequency of athletic activity was significantly associated with delinquent behaviors. Other findings revealed that self-reported jock identity was predictive of both minor and major delinquency, however major delinquency involvement was more likely among White adolescents. The findings are at odds with some of the major assumptions of both social bonds theory and routine activities theory. Data were drawn from the first and third waves of the longitudinal Family and Adolescent Study. Participants for the current analysis were 612 randomly selected New York adolescents and their families who completed face-to-face interviews and self-report questionnaires regarding engagement in various forms of delinquency, jock identity, school athlete status, frequency of athletic involvement, and contextual predictors of delinquency. Bivariate and multiple regression models were used to analyze the results. Tables, figures, references