Marijuana Use and Delinquency - A Reexamination

• NCJ Number: 92846
• Journal: Youth and Society Volume: 13 Issue: 1 Dated: (September 1981) Pages: 23-27
• Author(s): W E Thornton
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 15 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A study of self-reported delinquency among a sample of 8th-12th graders found that the effects of more traditional variables on delinquency were generally stronger than marijuana use.

Abstract

In 1978, 617 questionnaires, were completed by students in the 8th-12th grades. Students were randomly drawn from four schools in a medium-sized northwestern city. The self-report questionnaire covered nine delinquency items ranging from mildly serious (such as truancy) to very serious (such as breaking and entering). Delinquency scales constructed from the nine delinquency items included the incidence of social, property, and aggressive delinquency. Marijuana use was treated as a separate delinquency item. The variable of social support was measured by how many times the subject's friends had either been in trouble with the police or requested that the subject violate a law. Parental social control was measured by a series of questions about parents' knowledge of the whereabouts of the subjects when they were away from home. Educational achievement was determined by asking the subjects about school grades. The first phase of the analysis used simple bivariate correlational procedures to determine any zero-order relationships between the selected independent variables, including marijuana use, and three types of self-reported delinquency. The second phase used multiple regression to examine the simultaneous effects of these variables on self-reported delinquency. Findings suggest that when several key variables are examined simultaneously with marijuana use, there is no significant relationship betweem marijuana use and selected social and aggressive delinquencies; however, when all predictor variables are controlled, marijuana use does significantly relate to property offenses. Some explanations for the implications of the findings are discussed. Tabular data and 23 references are provided.