Gender Differences in the Educational Penalty of Delinquent Behavior: Evidence from an Analysis of Siblings
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Gender Differences in the Educational Penalty of Delinquent Behavior: Evidence from an Analysis of Siblings Jinho Kim1
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Objectives This study examines: (a) whether the association between juvenile delinquency and educational attainment differs by gender, and (b) which factors underlie such gender differences. Methods In order to account for the influence of unobservable family-background factors, this study applies sibling fixed-effects models on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). As a sensitivity check, I explore whether observed gender differences are robust to different measurements of delinquency and the potential presence of sibling spillover effects. Results Nearly half of the association between juvenile delinquency and educational attainment is attributable to unobservable factors related to family background. This study finds that controlling for unobserved family-level heterogeneity substantially attenuates the association between juvenile delinquency and educational attainment among females, making it no longer statistically significant. Among males, sibling fixed-effects estimates suggest that a one-standard-deviation increase in delinquent involvement is associated with a reduction in 0.23 years of schooling and a 4.6 percentage point increase in the probability of high school dropout. Supplementary analyses show that male delinquents face major disadvantages in social relationships in school settings and display lower levels of educational aspirations as well as effort. No such patterns are found among female delinquents. Conclusions This study finds a negative association between delinquency and educational attainment only for males but not for females. Results suggest that failure to account for unobserved family-level heterogeneity spuriously inflates the delinquency–education association to a larger extent among females than males. Keywords Delinquency · Educational attainment · Gender · Fixed effects
* Jinho Kim [email protected] 1
Department of Health Policy and Management, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
13
Vol.:(0123456789)
Journal of Quantitative Criminology
Introduction Juvenile delinquency and criminal activities are associated with negative consequences throughout the life course (Moffitt et al. 2002; Nilsson and Estrada 2011). Sampson and Laub (1997:15) state that “adolescent delinquency and its negative consequences (e.g., arrest, official labeling, incarceration) increasingly ‘mortgage’ one’s future, especially later life chances molded by schooling and employment.” A substantial amount of literature documents links between engagement in delinquent behavior and a host of negative educational outcomes such as lower academic achievement, higher rates of high school dropout, and fewer years of completed schooling (e.g., Hannon 2003; Monk-Turner 1989; Siennick and Staff 2008; Tanner et al. 1999; Ward and Williams 2015). Both the rate of del
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