Is the School Attachment/Commitment-Delinquency Relationship Spurious? An Exploratory Test of Arousal Theory

• NCJ Number: 199255
• Journal: Journal of Crime & Justice Volume: 25 Issue: 2 Dated: 2002 Pages: 49-70
• Author(s): John K. Cochran; Jennifer Wareham; Peter B. Wood; Bruce J. Arneklev
• Editor(s): J. Mitchell Miller
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 22 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study was conducted to determine the importance of the school attachment/commitment-delinquency relationship in predicting juvenile delinquency.

Abstract

Using self-report surveys completed by 1,591 high school students in Oklahoma, the authors examined arousal theory and the debate concerning the importance of state dependance models versus models of persistent heterogeneity as found in delinquent and criminal behavior. Arousal theory is based upon the premise that individuals vary in the degree to which they are neurologically predisposed to criminality. A brief review of past studies in these subject areas is provided here. The three dependent variables comprising this study, school attachment/commitment, arousal, and delinquency, are described. Tables provide information on bivariate correlations between self-reported delinquency scales, school attachment/commitment variables, and indicators of sub-optimal arousal; OLS regression models for the effects of school attachment/commitment and sub-optimal arousal on the self-reported frequency of involvement in interpersonal delinquency; OLS regression models for the effects of school attachment/commitment and sub-optimal arousal on the self-reported frequency of involvement in property-related delinquency; and OLS regression models for the effects of school attachment/commitment and sub-optimal arousal on the self-reported frequency of substance abuse-related delinquency. In summary, the study failed to support the contention of arousal theorists that the association between school attachment/commitment was spurious; it found that there was a causal role played by school and education variables in the make up of juvenile delinquency; the utility of an arousal/thrill seeking approach to understanding juvenile delinquency was demonstrated in this study; life course persistent influences may play an important causal role in the make up of juvenile delinquency; and, finally, the relationship that was found between youthful thrill-seeking and delinquency has implications for the legitimization of psychological, psychiatric, and bio-social elements in the development of criminology as a discipline. References are provided.