Staying in school protects boys with poor self-regulation in childhood from later crime: A longitudinal study

Based on a theoretical model that emphasises the distinction between indivi dual and contextual determinants of antisocial behaviour, the current study examined whether school attendance throughout adolescence acted as a prote ctive factor for individuals at risk for criminal behaviour in early adulth ood. Specifically, Lack of Control, an index of self-regulation which has p reviously been shown to predict later criminal behaviour, was expected to i nteract with early school leaving to predict self-reports and official reco rds of criminal behaviour collected at age 21. Multivariate regression anal yses revealed a significant three-way interaction between school attendance , self-regulation, and sex. Among males, after controlling for the effects of socioeconomic status and IQ, the main effects for Lack of Control and sc hool attendance were found to be significant; additionally, the interaction between Lack of Control and school attendance was significant, indicating that the strength of the relation between Lack of Control and criminal outc omes was moderated by school attendance. The main effects for Lack of Contr ol and school attendance were significant for females, but the interaction between Lack of Control and school attendance was not significant. The prot ective effect of school attendance among males could not be accounted for b y differences in familial disruption or adolescent delinquency.