U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Dropout and Delinquency: Mexican-American and Caucasian Non- Hispanic Youth

NCJ Number
156355
Journal
Journal of Clinical Child Psychology Volume: 23 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1994) Pages: 47-55
Author(s)
E L Chavez; E R Oetting; R C Swaim
Date Published
1994
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study examined delinquent behavior among Mexican American (MA) and Caucasian non-Hispanic (CnH) dropouts, students with academic problems, and control students.
Abstract
A total of 1,637 subjects were surveyed. The complete survey included self-report questions on substance use and a wide range of psychosocial characteristics. The study addressed delinquent behavior and included 46 items that ranged from driving violations to use of weapons. Response categories were "none," 1 to 2 times, 3 to 9 times, and 10 or more times. Findings show that dropouts and students with poor grades were much more likely to engage in delinquent behaviors. The highest rates of delinquency were reported by males. Mexican-American youths in any of the academic status groups were slightly less likely to engage in delinquent behaviors compared to CnH youth, but overall rates of delinquency for MA youth may be higher due to their higher dropout rate. It was also found that peers of dropouts and academic problem students were more likely to engage in delinquent behaviors than peers of control students. 6 tables and 26 references