Date of Graduation

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Sociology (MA)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Sociology and Criminology

Advisor/Mentor

Thomas, Shaun

Committee Member

Nino, Michael

Second Committee Member

Engen, Rodney

Keywords

Education; Juvenile Delinquency; Mental Health; Rural

Abstract

Juvenile delinquency is a significant social issue with consequences that extend into adulthood and impact future success of youth. Although prior research has explored various factors that affect juvenile delinquency, notable gaps remain – notably a lack of literature on how educational strain effects juvenile delinquency with a focus on rural areas. This study addresses these gaps by examining the effects of educational strain, such as poor academic performance and lack of teacher support, on rural adolescents’ engagement in juvenile delinquency. Data for this study was obtained from the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an online dataset containing both in person interviews and an online questionnaire with data obtained from 67,679 respondents among the civilian, noninstitutionalized population age 12 years old and older. Multiple linear regression models were used to predict engagement in delinquency based off of academic performance, teacher support, parent support, mental health and rural location, controlling for key socioeconomic variables. Results show that academic performance, teacher support, and parent support were significant negative predictors of delinquency index measures and truancy, however rurality was a significant predictor of delinquency index measures only. Notably, ethnicity was a positive significant predictor for truancy, but negative in the delinquency index, and mental health was a significant positive predictor of delinquency in all models. These findings highlight the relationship between education and rural delinquency, adding more focus to the rural population in a literature that focuses heavily on urban areas and contains insight for policy makers in fields of education and incarceration. KEYWORDS: Education, Juvenile Delinquency, Rural, Mental Health

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