Examination of the Relative Effects of Neighborhoods and Schools on Juvenile Delinquency: A Multilevel Cross-Classified Model Approach

The main purpose of the present study is to examine the relative effects of neighborhoods and schools on adolescents' delinquency involvement. A multilevel cross-classified modeling approach, which has never been applied to the study of juvenile delinquency, was employed. Analyses of the first wave of The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (ADD Health) data revealed that the effect of neighborhoods on delinquency is about two or three times larger than the effect of schools. Also, each of the social contexts has its own independent effect even after controlling for the other social context. These findings suggest that examination of the simultaneous effects of schools and neighborhoods applying a new analytical technique is important for a better understanding of the causes of juvenile delinquency.