Schooling and delinquency among White and African American adolescents

Adolescent delinquency may be a likely consequence of negative school exper iences, including poor academic performance, low class attendance and dropp ing out. Given disparate experiences that African American and White studen ts often encounter in school, this investigation examined the link between delinquency and school behaviors separately for White and African American males at risk for delinquency. In addition, it asked whether school experie nces are equally related to both minor and more severe forms of criminal be havior Results indicated that class attendance was related to higher incide nce of both minor and serious delinquency. For African American adolescents , poor school grades and dropping out of school were predictive of both typ es of delinquency. The insignificant relationship between delinquency and s chool failure for White adolescents may be partially attributed to an econo mic safety net that provides assistance for White students who fall from th e educational system. The importance of succeeding and persisting in school is highlighted for African American adolescents.