School activities, community service, and delinquency

A common observation is that lack of involvement in communtities is linked to a host of social problems, including delinquency. In response to this observation, youth are increasingly encouraged to volunteer,for community service projects. Involvement in school activities is also seen as it way to attenuate delinquency, Yet little research has examined the simultaneous and unique impact of school on involvement and community activities on delinquency. Using linked individual-level and school-level data. the authors investigate the impact of school and community activities in delinquency. The results indicate that community activities art, related negatively to delinquency, especially in schools that are perceived as unsafe, However race/ethnicity and percentage of minority students in the school condition the impact of school activities (,it delinquent behavior In high-minority schools, African American students who participate in school activities are involved in more delinquent behavior, yet those in low-minority schools are less involved in delinquent behavior.