The Work Ethnic and Delinquency

Abstract

Many criminologists argue that delinquency stems, in part, from the abandonment of the work ethnic by adolescents. No longer willing to engage in hard work and self-denial, adolescents become more likely to engage in delinquency. Using longitudinal data from a national survey of adolescent boys, this study found that adolescents with a low commitment to the work ethic were more likely to become delinquent. The effect of the work ethic was explained, in large part, by social control and cultural deviance theory. The implications of these findings are briefly examined.