Abstract
This research examines the effect of school attachment on the likelihood of being an officially sanctioned delinquent using data for a sample of youths in Tianjin, China. Our statistical analyses are organized around a conventional, integrated causal model that draws upon Western criminological theories of delinquency. The results of multivariate regression analyses reveal that school attachment and school quality are inversely related to an indicator of official delinquency status. A measure of association with delinquent peers similarly exerts a significant but positive effect on official delinquency status. Our analyses are consistent with perspectives on delinquency developed in the West, suggesting that these perspectives are reasonably generalizable. We conclude with a discussion of new directions for further comparative research on delinquency in China.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Akers, Ronald L. 1994 Criminological Theories: Introduction and Evaluation. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury.
Bennett, Richard R. 1980 “Constructing cross-cultural theories in criminology: Application of the generative approach.” Criminology 18:252–268.
Biddulph, Sarah 1993 “Review of police powers of administrative detention in the People's Republic of China.” Crime and Delinquency 39:337–354.
Bynum, Jack E. and William E. Thompson 1992 Juvenile Delinquency: A Sociological Approach. Second Edition. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Cernkovich, Stephen A., and Peggy C. Giordano 1992 “School bonding and delinquency.” Criminology 30:261–291.
Chen, Xianrong 1987 “Phenomena of dropping out and criminal delinquency among middle and primary school students in Beijing.” Chinese Education 20:86–95.
Chi, Guang 1985 “The investigation of juvenile delinquency in six provinces and cities of China.” In The Association of Chinese Juvenile Delinquency Study (ed.), 1988 Yearbook on Chinese Juvenile Delinquency Studies 1:236–240. Beijing, China: Chuenqiu Publication House.
1989 “A tentative probe into the causes of juvenile delinquency.” Chinese Sociology and Anthropology 22:42–63.
Culture and Communications Research Center of Fudan University 1990 “Shanghai College professors assess trends and situations in education: Fudan University conducts a sample survey on how education can extricate itself from its present dilemma.” Chinese Education 23:22–30.
Curran, Daniel J., and Sandra Cook 1993 “Growing fears, rising crime: Juveniles and China's justice system.” Crime and Delinquency 39:296–315.
Dreeben, Robert 1968 On What is Learned in School. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Fen, Wengao, and Dinghu Yuan 1986 “An investigation of students' drop out and delinquency.” In The Association of Chinese Juvenile Delinquency Study (ed.), 1988 Yearbook on Chinese Juvenile Delinquency Studies 1:218–222. Beijing, China: Chuenqiu Publication House.
Gibbons, Don C., and Marvin D. Krohn 1991 Delinquent Behavior, 5th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Gao, Shuqiao 1986 “Social causes of juvenile delinquency.” Chinese Education 19: 8–26.
Guo, Xiang and Jingmiao Ma 1986 “Introduction to juvenile law and regulations in China.” In The Association of Chinese Juvenile Delinquency Study (ed.), 1988 Yearbook on Chinese Juvenile Delinquency Studies 1:783–813. Beijing, China: Chuenqiu Publication House.
Hirschi, Travis 1969 Causes of Delinquency. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Johnson, Elmer H. 1984 “Neighborhood police in the People's Republic of China.” Police Studies 6:8–12.
Johnson, Richard E., Anastaisos C. Marcos, and Stephen J. Bahr 1987 “The role of peers in the complex etiology of adolescent drug use.” Criminology 25:323–340.
Kercher, Kyle 1988 “Criminology.” In Edgar F. Borgatta and Karen S. Cook (eds.), The Future of Sociology: 294–316. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
Kwong, Julia 1988 Cultural Revolution in China's Schools. Stanford University, CA: Hoover Institution Press.
Lang, Olga 1946 Chinese Family and Society. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Lin, Jing 1993 Education in Post-Mao China. New York: Praeger Publishers.
Liska, Allen E., and Mark D. Reed 1985 “Ties to conventional institutions and delinquency: Estimating reciprocal effects.” American Sociological Review 50:547–560.
Lofstedt, Jan-Ingvar 1980 Chinese Educational Policy: Changes and Constructions 1949–79. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press.
Liu, Anqu 1984 “Difficulty in study and delinquency.” In The Association of Chinese Juvenile Delinquency Study (ed.), 1988 Yearbook on Chinese Juvenile Delinquency Studies 1:509–512. Beijing, China: Chuenqiu Publication House.
Munro, Donald J. 1977 The Concept of Man in Contemporary China. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Rojek, Dean G. 1989 “Confucianism, Maoism, and the coming of delinquency to China.” In Ronald J. Troyer, John P. Clark, and Dean G. Rojek (eds.), Social Control in the People's Republic of China: 84–96. New York: Praeger Publishers.
Sampson, Robert J., and John H. Laub 1993 Crime in the Making: Pathways and Turning Points Through Life. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Spence, Jonathan D. 1990 The Search for Modern China. New York: W. W. Norton.
Sutherland, Edwin H., and Donald R. Cressey 1970 Criminology, 8th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott.
Troyer, Ronald J. 1989a “Chinese social organization.” In Ronald J. Troyer, John P. Clark, and Dean G. Rojek (eds.), Social Control in the People's Republic of China: 26–33. New York: Praeger Publishers.
1989b “Chinese thinking about crime and social control.” In Ronald J. Troyer, John P. Clark, and Dean G. Rojek (eds.), Social Control in the People's Republic of China: 45–56. New York: Praeger Publishers.
Wiatrowski, Michael D., David B. Griswold, and Mary K. Roberts 1981 “Social control and delinquency.” American Sociological Review 46:525–541.
Zhang, Jing, Daoseng Shao, Shufeng Yang, Ruehe Yang, Hanying Zhang, and Lu Zhou 1983 “Drop out and delinquency in Tianjin City.” In The Association of Chinese Juvenile Delinquency Study (ed.), 1988 Yearbook on Chinese Juvenile Delinquency Studies 1:222–226. Beijing, China: Chuenqiu Publication House.
Zhang, Lening and Steven F. Messner 1995 “Family deviance and delinquency in China.” Criminology 33:359–387.
Zhang, Panshi 1985 “An investigation of interpersonal relations among delinquent adolescents.” In The Association of Chinese Juvenile Delinquency Study (ed.), 1988 Yearbook on Chinese Juvenile Delinquency Studies 1:205–215. Beijing, China: Chuenqiu Publication House.
Zhao, Ren 1986 “Work-study schools are excellent.” Chinese Education 19: 37–62.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhang, L., Messner, S.F. School attachment and official delinquency status in the People's Republic of China. Sociol Forum 11, 285–303 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02408368
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02408368