School Activities, Community Service, and Delinquency

Keywords

community involvement, delinquency, education, school, minority

Abstract

A common observation is that lack of involvement in communities is linked to a host of social problems, including delinquency. In response to this observation, youth are increasingly encouraged to volunteer for community service projects. Involvement in school activities is also seen as a way to attenuate delinquency. Yet little research has examined the simultaneous and unique impact of school involvement and community activities on delinquency. Using linked individual-level and school-level data, the authors investigate the impact of school and community activities on delinquency. The results indicate that community activities are related negatively to delinquency, espe- cially in schools that are perceived as unsafe. However, race/ethnicity and percentage of minority students in the school condition the impact of school activities on delinquent behavior. In high-minority schools, African American students who participate in school activities are involved in more delinquent behavior, yet those in low-minority schools are less involved in delinquent behavior.

Original Publication Citation

Hoffmann, John P., and Jiangmin Xu. 2002. “School Activities, Community Service, and Delinquency.” Crime & Delinquency 48(4): 568-591.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2002-10

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/6736

Publisher

Crime & Delinquency

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Sociology

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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