THE EFFECT OF RELIGION ON ADOLESCENT DELINQUENCY REVISITED

This is a study of 1,093 adolescents who attended public high schools in rural Arkansas; Little Rock Arkansas; or Baltimore, Maryland. The r esults do not support the hypothesis that antiascetic behaviors are mo re affected by religiosity than are criminal behaviors. Nor does the s tudy support the theoretical hypothesis that religiosity is an anteced ent factor that has effects that are fully mediated through other more proximate elements of social control It also finds few real differenc es in the effects of religiosity on various forms of delinquency betwe en Baltimore, Maryland; Little Rock, Arkansas; and rural areas of Arka nsas. Implications of the study are discussed.