NCJ Number
226747
Journal
Criminology Volume: 47 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2009 Pages: 47-92
Date Published
February 2009
Length
46 pages
Annotation
This study investigated the relationship between dropping out of high school and involvement in subsequent delinquent and problem behaviors, and whether a relationship existed between dropping out of high school and subsequent behavior and whether the relationship was driven by causation or selection.
Abstract
The main result of the study was the absence of evidence of a statistically significant causal effect of dropout on either the prevalence or variety of delinquency using a nationally representative sample of youth. Substantial evidence was found that the large first-order correlation between delinquency and dropout was driven almost entirely by time-stable differences between individuals who dropped out and those who did not. Only partial empirical support was found for the hypothesis that the effect of dropping out was not uniform but varied by the reason for leaving school, gender, and time. Approximately one-third of United States high school freshman do not earn their high school diploma on time. It has been argued that school dropouts put themselves at a higher risk for delinquency and criminal behavior when they leave school. However, it has also been argued that dropouts show evidence of school failure and developmental problems years in advance. This study examined the effect of leaving school early, and the reason for dropping out, on delinquent behavior with the use of panel data models from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 Cohort with an over-sampling of minority youth. Tables, references, and appendix