title: Understanding the school outcomes of juvenile offenders: an exploration of neighborhood influences and motivational resources.
abstract: As a group, delinquent youth complete less education and show poor academic outcomes compared to their non-delinquent peers. To better understand pathways to school success, this study integrated individual- and neighborhood-level data to examine academic functioning among 833 White, Black, and Hispanic male juvenile offenders (age 14-17) living in two urban communities. A multilevel path analysis confirmed that youth in relatively more affluent communities report greater access to opportunities in the areas of education and employment, and that these opportunities are associated with higher expectations to succeed and better grades. Findings highlight the importance of taking an ecological approach for understanding processes that shape school effort and achievement. Implications are discussed in the context of promoting academic success among juvenile offenders, specifically, and for understanding pathways to healthy adjustment, more generally.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ, USA. chung@tcnj.edu
authors.forename: He Len
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Edward P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Mulvey
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Steinberg
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D001130:Arizona; D004522:Educational Status; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000523:psychology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D015143:Philadelphia; D011203:Poverty; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012574:Schools; D057566:Self Report; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population