Contesting Effects on School Performance and Delinquency

Abstract

This research re-examines the correlation of school performance and delinquency and its mechanism, using the self-control theory and the theory of informal social control. The authors of these two theories are entangled in an ongoing debate about which theory is better capable to explain delinquency. This research sheds a new light on this debate. It is expected that lower school performances leads to higher degrees of delinquency. For the contesting theories it is expected that according to the self-control theory, the relation of school performance and delinquency is spurious and that they both can be explained by low self-control. According to the theory of informal social control this relation is mediated by informal social control by schools, in which higher degrees of control lead to lower degrees of delinquency. Results show that the relation between school performance and delinquency can once again be confirmed, in the expected direction. However, self-control did not provide for a spurious relation and informal social control was only applicable to those with school performances above average. Nevertheless, these theories are still seen as very promising in explaining the mechanisms of delinquency.