Date of Award

6-12-2006

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Teaching & Learning

First Advisor

Richard G. Landry

Abstract

Social capital theory suggests that there are assets inherent in social relations that may be used to facilitate enhanced social, cultural, economic, and education outcomes for individuals and groups. More specifically, this theory can be extended to include those relational investments in youth that may serve to enhance their developmental, social, and educational outcomes. Proponents of social capital theory have asserted that youth with increased access to social capital may be less likely to exhibit social and behavioral difficulties. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between social capital and engagement in high-risk behaviors (including substance use, bullying, and delinquency) for high school students. Multiple regression analyses were employed to construct models of social capital as they related to engagement in high-risk behavior for a sample of 1,647 high school students in a medium-sized, midwestern city. Such models were generated for the general sample, by sex, and by family structure. Results indicated that a significant amount of variance on each of the eight high-risk variables could be accounted for by social capital for the general sample, by sex, and by family structure. Furthermore, social capital accounted for significantly more variability of the substance use dependent variables for males than for females. A greater proportion of the variability of alcohol use and marijuana use were accounted for by social capital with the traditional family structure sample than the nontraditional family structure sample. Finally, social capital accounted for a greater proportion of the variability of bullying behavior for the nontraditional family structure sample than for the traditional family structure sample. Social capital was found to be an important contributor to high-risk behavior engagement by high school students. Moreover, significant differences in the relative importance of social capital to engagement in high-risk behavior by sex and, to a lesser degree, by family structure were identified.

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