Date of Award

6-2018

Document Type

Open Access

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Sociology

First Advisor

Timothy Stablein

Language

English

Keywords

crime, arrest, dropout, attrition, high school, poverty, south, school, intersectionality

Abstract

The high school student attrition rate in the United States is unexpectedly high. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate a correlation between high school non-completion and criminal arrest rates in order to establish the importance of improving the public school system in the country. I analyze dropout rates, crime rates, and demographic differences through an ecological study of the United States. States with high dropout rates also have high overall arrest rates, families living in poverty, and are more religious. These factors are particularly present across the Southeast United States as well as the Southwest, particularly those with large amounts of Indian Reservations. I explore how these factors may be interconnected with dropout rates and offer explanations for these relationships.

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