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Commitment to School – Rochester Youth Development StudyTitle
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About Commitment to School – Rochester Youth Development Study
Scale Name
Commitment to School – Rochester Youth Development Study
Author Details
Terence P. Thornberry, Alan J. Lizotte, Marvin D. Krohn, Margaret Farnworth, and Sung Joon Jang
Translation Availability
English
Background/Description
The Commitment to School scale, developed as part of the Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS) by Terence P. Thornberry, Alan J. Lizotte, Marvin D. Krohn, Margaret Farnworth, and Sung Joon Jang in 1991, is a self-report questionnaire designed to measure youths’ agreement about the importance of schoolwork. The RYDS, initiated in 1986 by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, is a longitudinal study of 1,000 adolescents in Rochester, New York, starting in grades 7-8 (1988) and followed into adulthood, focusing on delinquency, drug use, and protective factors. The scale targets urban youth to assess their investment in academic goals, a key component of interactional theory, which posits that strong school commitment reduces delinquent behavior by fostering prosocial bonds.
The scale comprises nine items rated on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = “strongly disagree” to 4 = “strongly agree”), evaluating beliefs about the value of schoolwork and academic effort (e.g., “Doing well in school is important to me” or “I try hard at school”). Higher scores (range: 9-36) indicate greater commitment to school. Validated in a diverse urban sample over-representing high-risk youth, the scale is integral to RYDS findings that link school commitment to lower rates of delinquency and drug use. Its focus on cognitive investment in schoolwork complements related RYDS measures of school attachment and performance.
Psychologists, criminologists, and educators use the scale to identify protective factors against delinquency, evaluate school-based interventions, and inform programs like mentoring or academic support. Its high internal consistency and longitudinal validation enhance its research utility, though its English-only availability and urban focus may limit generalizability.
Administration, Scoring and Interpretation
- Obtain a copy of the Commitment to School scale from RYDS publications, such as Thornberry et al. (1991) in Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency or ICPSR archives (e.g., ICPSR 35167), ensuring ethical use permissions.
- Explain the purpose to respondents, noting that it assesses beliefs about schoolwork’s importance to understand academic and behavioral outcomes, emphasizing confidentiality.
- Provide instructions, asking respondents to rate each of the nine items based on their agreement with statements about schoolwork, using the 4-point scale, typically reflecting current attitudes.
- Approximate time for completion is about 3-5 minutes, given its concise format.
- Administer in a classroom, research lab, or interview setting, using paper or digital formats, ensuring a private environment to encourage honest responses.
Reliability and Validity
The Commitment to School scale exhibits strong psychometric properties. Internal consistency is robust, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.81, indicating good item cohesion. Test-retest reliability is not explicitly reported but is inferred to be adequate based on RYDS’s longitudinal design with high retention (mean = 91%).
Convergent validity is supported by correlations with related constructs, such as academic achievement and school attachment (r ≈ 0.50-0.70), and its inverse relationship with delinquency and drug use (r ≈ -0.40 to -0.60), as shown in Thornberry et al. (1991). Discriminant validity is evidenced by weaker correlations with unrelated constructs, such as family conflict (r < 0.30). Criterion validity is demonstrated by its ability to predict lower delinquency rates and better academic outcomes, with higher commitment linked to reduced serious offending in RYDS findings. Factor analyses within RYDS confirm its role in the broader school bonding construct, supporting construct validity. These properties affirm the scale’s reliability and utility in developmental and criminological research.
Available Versions
10-Items
Reference
Rochester Youth Development Study, Thornberry, T. P., Lizotte, A. J., Krohn, M. D., Farnworth, M., & Jang, S. J. (1991). Testing interactional theory: An examination of reciprocal causal relationships among family, school, and delinquency. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 3-35.
Important Link
Scale File:
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Commitment to School scale measure?
It measures youths’ agreement about the importance of schoolwork.
Who can use the scale?
Researchers, psychologists, and educators studying youth delinquency and school engagement.
How long does the scale take to complete?
It takes about 3-5 minutes.
Is the scale specific to urban youth?
Yes, it was validated in a diverse urban sample of grades 7-8 students.
Can the scale inform delinquency prevention?
Yes, it identifies school commitment as a protective factor against delinquency.
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