WORK AND DELINQUENCY AMONG JUVENILES ATTENDING SCHOOL

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Prior studies have found no relationship or a slight positive relationship between work and delinquency among juveniles attending school. Such studies, however, have simply compared employed to unemployed juveniles. This study predicts that certain types of jobs will reduce delinquency and focuses on the relationship between delinquency and five job characteristics: prestige, pay, satisfaction, hours, and length of employment. Data indicate that serious delinquency is positively associated with hours and negatively associated with prestige, while minor delinquency is positively associated with hours and pay, and negatively associated with prestige and length of employment. Juveniles in white-collar jobs of long duration, short hours, and low pay have lower rates of delinquency than juveniles who never worked.