A Multilevel Analysis of the Relationships among Communal School Organization, Student Bonding, and Delinquency

Abstract

Research has identified school-related factors that are predictive of a student's involvement in delinquency: specifically, school-level communal school organization and individual-level student bonding. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the multilevel relationships among these concepts in a nationally representative sample of 13,597 students in 253 schools. Hypotheses stating that students who attend more communally organized schools are more likely to be bonded to school and less likely to engage in delinquency were upheld, as was the hypothesis that students who are more attached to their school are less likely to engage in delinquency. The final hypothesis, which examined a multilevel interaction between communal school organization and student bonding, was upheld in that student bonding had less of an effect on delinquency in schools that were more communally organized. Implications for delinquency prevention are discussed.