The Impact of School Environment and Grade Level on Student Delinquency: A Multilevel Modeling Approach

Effects on delinquency made by grade level, school type (based on grade levels accommodated), and prosocial school climate were assessed, controlling for individual-level risk and protective factors. Data were obtained from the Substance Abuse Services Division of Alabama’s state mental health agency and analyzed via hierarchical linear modeling, yielding three major findings. First, grade level’s effects on delinquency varied strongly by school type, although in the multivariate context the interaction effects of grade level and school type were not significant. Second, prosocial school climate significantly explained differential delinquency rates. Third, the requirement that students change schools upon reaching a certain grade level does, as the literature notes, appear to lead to a poor environmental fit for students’ developmental needs.