What is the connection between school success and deviant behavior, and how does this relate to Mexican-American and caucasian youth? Mexican-American youth have higher instances of both academic difficulty and delinquency. Researchers of this study sought to discover which variables correlate, determine the implications of the findings on the two ethnic groups, and increase awareness of society’s impact on these young Hispanics.

Past studies have correlated ethnicity and school success/failure and ethnicity and delinquency, finding that the dropout rate for Mexican-Americans may be as high as 50%, and that a high rate of Hispanics have trouble with the law. Other studies have compared different types of deviance and dropping out of school with deviance. Delinquency often indicates academic failure, although the reverse is not necessarily true. Obviously, a combination of factors enters into identifying youth as at-risk for delinquency. Here, the factors of ethnicity (Mexican-American versus caucasian non-Hispanic), school dropout, and gender were studied.

DESIGN

FINDINGS

• Dropouts had the highest scores on delinquency, followed by students with academic difficulties. The control group had the lowest rate of delinquency.
• There was a significant difference in delinquency between the control group and the students with acdemic problems for both males and females, but the difference was greater for males.
• Caucasians with school problems were more likely than Mexican-Americans with school problems to be involved in deviant behavior.
• Having dropouts as peers increased the likelihood of delinquency.
• Mexican-Americans have much higher percentage of dropping out of school (35.3% used in this study) than Caucasian (8.9%).
• Female caucasians were three times more likely to have peers who had gone to jail than Mexican-American females, while male Mexican-Americans were two to three times more likely to have peers who had gone to jail than Caucasian males.

CONCLUSIONS

• In every category, the factor that most influenced or correlated with delinquent behavior was academic status.
• This study found that, in all academic categories, the rate of delinquency among Mexican-American youth was comparable to or lower than that of the Caucasians.
• Peers have a strong influence on young people in the area of delinquency. Not only does having delinquent peers indicate that a young person is more likely to be delinquent, but those who struggle academically are more likely to have delinquent peers.
• More Mexican-American youth may be involved in delinquency because they are not doing well in school. "A major effort is needed to improve the ability of Mexican-American children to stay in school and to do well in school" (p. 55).

1. Why do you think so many Mexican-Americans drop out or do poorly in school?
2. How can these adolescents be encouraged and helped in academic endeavors?
3. Why do you think academic difficulty is correlated to delinquency across all groups?
4. How can the educational system be adjusted to help every student realize their potential and have the necessary abilities to succeed according to the guidelines of this society?

• This issue is important to young people, particularly in Southern California and other parts of the country with high concentrations of Hispanics. Many adolescents become frustrated by not being able to succeed in society; instead, young people feebly attempt to make their own way.
• Leaders of young people, whether in the home, school, church, or other youth organzation, need to attempt to understand and experience their struggles with them. Empower young people to recognize their special talents and excel in life with them.
• Help students struggling with the American culture. They need guidance in balancing their Hispanic value system with the norms and traditions of American society.

Joanne Kautzmann Murillo cCYS

IMPLICATIONS

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

The subjects of this study, 1,637 male and female seventh to twelfth graders, were either of Mexican-American or caucasian non-Hispanic descent (there were more Mexican-American subjects in the study). They were selected from three academic categories: dropouts, those having academic problems (having similar GPAs to the dropouts), and academically average students (the control group). These subjects completed a survey about different deviant behaviors, indicating whether or not they had done them and how many times they had done them.

Chavez, E.L., Oetting, E.R., & Swaim, R.C. (1994). Dropout and delinquency: Mexican-American and caucasian non-hispanic youth. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 23j(l), 47-55.

OVERVIEW