The Subculture of Violence and Delinquency: Individual vs. School Context Effects

This article examines the subculture of violence thesis using data on young males (N = 2,213) across 87 high schools. Aggregate analyses show that values reflecting a subculture of violence have substantial effects on the level of interpersonal violence among high school boys. Contextual analyses su...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social forces 1994-09, Vol.73 (1), p.155-173
Main Authors: Felson, Richard B., Liska, Allen E., South, Scott J., McNulty, Thomas L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior
Boys
Coefficients
Contextual analysis
Criminal sociology. Police. Delinquency. Deviance. Suicide
Delinquency
Educational Environment
High School Students
High Schools
Interpersonal Relations
Juvenile delinquency
Males
School Culture
School Effects
School violence
Schools
Secondary Schools
Social aspects
Social control
Sociology
Sociology of law and criminology
Statistical variance
Student Attitudes
Student Subcultures
Students
Subculture
Subcultures
U.S.A
United States of America
USA
Value Orientations
Values
Violence
Violent crimes
Youth
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Summary:This article examines the subculture of violence thesis using data on young males (N = 2,213) across 87 high schools. Aggregate analyses show that values reflecting a subculture of violence have substantial effects on the level of interpersonal violence among high school boys. Contextual analyses suggest that the school subculture of violence operates through a social control process. A contextual measure of school values regarding violence has a direct effect on interpersonal violence, controlling for individuals' commitment to these values. These results contradict the usual explanation of how the subculture of violence affects violent behavior. Further, evidence implying that values regarding violence predict other forms of delinquency suggests that the results may reflect a subculture of delinquency rather than a subculture of violence. Finally, young males are most likely to engage in delinquency when they go to schools where academics are valued, controlling for their own academic values.
ISSN:0037-7732
1534-7605
DOI:10.1093/sf/73.1.155