NCJ Number
58783
Date Published
1978
Length
70 pages
Annotation
A MODEL THAT CONCEPTUALIZES SCHOOL CRIME AS A FUNCTION OF CONGRUENCE OR FIT BETWEEN THE PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS AND THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT OF THEIR SCHOOL IS DEVELOPED.
Abstract
SUBSTANTIVE AND METHODOLOGICAL STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF VARIOUS APPROACHES TO EXPLAINING DELINQUENCY ARE CITED, AND PREREQUISITES FOR AN ADEQUATE THEORY OF DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR ARE SPECIFIED. A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PERSON-ENVIRONMENT FIT MODEL IS PRESENTED, AND THE RELATION OF THE MODEL TO DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR AND SPECIFICALLY TO SCHOOL CRIME IS DESCRIBED. PARTICULAR ATTENTION IS DIRECTED TO THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SCHOOL EXPERIENCE IN THE LIVES OF YOUTHS, AND TO THE ELEMENTS OF THE PERSON-ENVIRONMENT MODEL APPLIED IN A SCHOOL CONTEXT. THE MODEL SPECIFIES HOW THE ABILITIES AND MOTIVES OF INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS INTERACT WITH DEMANDS AND SUPPLIES IN THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT TO DETERMINE THE PERSON-ENVIRONMENT FIT, THE QUALITY OF WHICH DETERMINES THE PRESENCE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL STRAINS (ALIENATION, HOSTILITY, TENSION, FRUSTRATION, RESENTMENT, ETC.) AND THE BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES THEY ENGENDER. (PASSIVE COMPLIANCE, ACTIVE EVASION DELINQUENCY). THE MODEL IS APPLIED TO SELECTED THEORIES AND EMPIRICAL FINDINGS FROM THE EMPIRICAL LITERATURE ON DELINQUENCY AND SCHOOL CRIME, WITH EMPHASIS ON TWO STUDIES OF ADOLESCENTS THAT LEND SUPPORT TO THE MODEL AND SHED LIGHT ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCHOOL CRIME-DISRUPTION AND DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR IN GENERAL. OVERALL, THE PRESENTATION SUGGESTS THAT SCHOOLS NOT ONLY SERVE AS A CONTEXT OR SETTING FOR CRIME AND DISRUPTION, BUT ALSO PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN GENERATING SUCH BEHAVIOR. THE PERSON-ENVIRONMENT MODEL SPEAKS TO THIS SITUATION BY CLARIFYING THE NATURE AND INTERACTION OF SCHOOLS' AND STUDENTS' PROBLEMS AND SPECIFYING LOCI FOR CORRECTIVE INTERVENTION. A 19-PAGE LIST OF REFERENCES IS PROVIDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--LKM)