| Violation of School Behavioral Policies and Its Relationship With Overall Crime. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 21109451 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
PURPOSE: Schools enact behavioral policies (e.g., dress codes, truancy policies) to enhance social control and create safe environments. Following the Theory of Social Disorganization, we hypothesize that poor social control measured by violations of behavioral policies is associated with greater rates of school crime. METHODS: We collected incidence of behavioral policy violations and crime from security reports maintained by a South Los Angeles school district of 19,365 students during two school years (2003-2005). Weekly counts of policy violations and crime were modeled by use of the Generalized Linear Models fit using Generalized Estimating Equations based on an autoregressive correlation structure. RESULTS: Greater rates of school policy violations were associated with greater rates of school crime. The strongest association was between substance use violations and crime (high school: rate ratio [RR], 3.4, 95% confidence limit [CL], 2.6-4.6, middle school: RR, 3.8, CL, 2.6-5.4, elementary schools: RR, 2.4, 95% CL, 1.6-3.6). A one-unit increase in the weekly truancy rate per 1000 students was associated with a sixfold increase in the crime rate at the middle school and a 10% increase at the high school but had no apparent association with crime in elementary schools. A one-unit increase in the weekly dress code violation rate was linked to a 20% increase in crime at the high school. CONCLUSIONS: Collective adherence to school behavioral policies may increase social control and reduce disorganization, which may in turn contribute to a positive safety culture and reduced violence at school. Interventions to increase adherence to school policies are needed particularly during early adolescent school years. |
| | |
Authors:
|
Marizen Ramirez; Rizaldy R Ferrer; Gang Cheng; Joseph E Cavanaugh; Corinne Peek-Asa |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2010-11-23 |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: Annals of epidemiology Volume: - ISSN: 1873-2585 ISO Abbreviation: Ann Epidemiol Publication Date: 2010 Nov |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 2010-11-26 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 9100013 Medline TA: Ann Epidemiol Country: - |
Other Details:
|
Languages: ENG Pagination: - Citation Subset: - |
Copyright Information:
|
Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. |
Affiliation:
|
Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA (M.R., C.P.-A.); Children Youth and Family Services Consortium, California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University, Alhambra, CA (R.R.F.); and the Department of Biostatistics, University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA (G.C., J.E.C.). |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
|
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: Contraception methods, beyond oral contraceptives and tubal ligation, and risk of ovarian cancer.
Next Document: Longitudinal measurement invariance of the metabolic syndrome: is the assessment of the metabolic sy...