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Effect of School Classroom Characteristics on Low Self-Control: A Multilevel Analysis

NCJ Number
223068
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 36 Issue: 2 Dated: May/June 2008 Pages: 174-181
Author(s)
Kevin M. Beaver; John Paul Wright; Michael O. Maume
Date Published
May 2008
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study examined the potential role schools and school classrooms, as a social institution might play in instilling self-control.
Abstract
Two broad findings were garnered from the empirical analysis. First, the parenting measures exerted weak and inconsistent effects on self-control. Only parental withdrawal was statistically significant across all of the multilevel models, suggesting that the causes of low self-control are more complex. The second key finding to emerge was the strong and consistent effect of the classroom misbehavior measure. Analysis revealed that students who were embedded in classrooms with high levels of disruptive students were at increased risk for having low levels of self-control. At all stages of life, problems with self-control pose a serious threat to healthy, prosocial human development. Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory has reaped a substantial amount of empirical support. Most research has examined the ways in which parents contribute to the development of self-control in children. However, Gottfredson and Hirschi also hypothesized that other social institutions, especially schools, might play at least some role in instilling self-control. This study represents an initial first step in discerning which perspective (i.e., social selection or social causation) was better able to explain the relationship between school classrooms’ characteristics and low self-control. Table, appendix, notes, and references