Degree Name

MA (Master of Arts)

Program

Criminal Justice and Criminology

Date of Award

5-2015

Committee Chair or Co-Chairs

Gregory Rocheleau

Committee Members

Larry Miller, John Whitehead

Abstract

Neighborhood social disorganization has been found to be related to crime and deviance. In explaining this relationship, most have focused on specific factors of informal social control and collective efficacy. Using data from the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (n = 12,800), the relationship between social disorganization and delinquent outcomes was examined by looking at extra-curricular activities as intervening mechanisms with logistic regression in SPSS. While the effect of social disorganization on delinquency remained significant, results indicated some evidence of mediation when accounting for extra-curricular activity measures predicting binge drinking. Specifically, the coefficient for social disorganization was reduced and significant at a lower threshold once extra-curricular activity measures were added in the models. Also, findings indicated different patterns of relationships found among the various extra-curricular activity categories concerning delinquent outcomes. Unlike other types of extracurricular activities, increased involvement in athletic activities was related to increased participation in delinquency.

Document Type

Thesis - unrestricted

Copyright

Copyright by the authors.

Included in

Criminology Commons

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