DOES DROPPING OUT OF SCHOOL ENHANCE DELINQUENT INVOLVEMENT? RESULTS FROM A LARGE-SCALE NATIONAL PROBABILITY SAMPLE*

This study seeks to improve on previous research on the relationship between dropping out of school and later involvement in delinquency. Using data from the first two waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, the analysis addresses two problems with prior studies in this area: (1) By controlling for many variables that may account for observed dropout-delinquency associations, it is possible to explore the possibility that the relationship may be spurious. (2) By examining the effects of different reasons for dropping out, the study avoids the assumption that dropouts are a homogeneous group. Results indicate that the effect of dropping out of school on later offending is more complicated than previous research leads one to believe. In addition, dropping out does not always enhance the likelihood of a person's later delinquent involvement.