Long-Term Effects of Parenting and Family Characteristics on Delinquency of Male Young Adults
| Author | Judith Semon Dubas,Wilma Smeenk,Magda Stouthamer-Loeber,Peter H. van der Laan,Machteld Hoeve,Rolf Loeber,Jan R. M. Gerris |
| Published date | 01 April 2007 |
| Date | 01 April 2007 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/1477370807074854 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Volume 4 (2): 161–194: 1477-3708
DOI: 10.1177/1477370807074854
Copyright © 2007 European Society of
Criminology and SAGE Publications
Los Angeles, London, New Delhi and Singapore
www.sagepublications.com
Long-Term Effects of Parenting and
Family Characteristics on Delinquency of
Male Young Adults
Machteld Hoeve
Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement,
Leiden, The Netherlands
Wilma Smeenk
Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement,
Leiden, The Netherlands
Rolf Loeber
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical
School, Pittsburgh PA, USA
Magda Stouthamer-Loeber
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical
School, Pittsburgh PA, USA
Peter H. van der Laan
Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement,
Leiden, The Netherlands
Jan R. M. Gerris
Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Judith Semon Dubas
Utrecht University, The Netherlands
ABSTRACT
Drawing from the criminology literature and family studies, we investigated
the long-term effects of established family risk factors and parenting styles
on male young adult delinquency. We used data sets from two longitudinal
studies, the Pittsburgh Youth Study (N474) and the Child-Rearing and Family
in the Netherlands Study (N128), each with assessment periods covering
161-194 EUC-074854.qxd 28/2/07 12:38 PM Page 161
at least 10 years. The lack of orderly and structured activities within the family
during adolescence was a strong predictor of delinquency in young adulthood,
once prior aggression and demographic variables were considered. No evidence
was found for a relationship between authoritarian and authoritative parenting
styles and later delinquency. Furthermore, previously identified family factors
such as socioeconomic status, supervision, punishment and attachment were
not related to delinquent behaviour in young adulthood.
KEY WORDS
Family Risk Factors / Longitudinal Studies /Parenting / Self-Reported Delinquency /
Young Adults.
Introduction
The influence of parenting and other family factors is recognized in many
criminological theories (Bahr 1979) and empirical investigations concerning
risk factors for delinquency among adolescents. Despite the fact that the
family is a recurring element in many criminological theories and empirical
evidence has been found for the relationship between family factors and delin-
quency during adolescence, it remains unclear whether parenting processes
during adolescence continue to predict the maintenance of delinquent behavi-
our during young adulthood.1The purpose of this paper is to investigate the
prospective relationship between family factors during adolescence and crim-
inal behaviour in young adulthood. We identify two contrasting theories
concerning whether the effects of family characteristics during adolescence on
criminal activities should continue into young adulthood. We review the cur-
rent status of research on the concurrent and long-term relationship between
family factors and delinquency, drawing from both criminological studies and
family-oriented disciplines. Finally, we describe the current study, which tests
these contrasting theories in two different samples.
Family factors and delinquency
Many studies have explored which family factors can explain delinquency in
adolescent males. Family factors include characteristics of parenting as well as
other family-related issues. Family factors that increase the risk of adolescent
162 European Journal of Criminology 4(2)
1Although the term ‘delinquency’ generally refers to deviant acts performed by minors, we use
the term here in reference to both adolescent and young adult activities. We chose to use the
same term in order to emphasize the fact that we are looking at the same behaviours across
the adolescent and young adult years. This term is often used in this way among developmental
researchers, although criminologists may prefer to limit the use of delinquent activities to
minors and to use the label ‘criminal behaviour’ if these same acts are committed by adults.
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delinquency are: lack of warmth, low supervision, harsh punishment, con-
flictual family climate, problems of parents, and delinquency within the
family (Junger-Tas 1996; Loeber and Dishion 1983; Loeber and Stouthamer-
Loeber 1986). For example, Farrington et al. (2001), in a retrospective design,
investigated the relationship between offenders within the family and boys’
delinquency at ages 8, 11 or 14, and found that arrests of several kinds of fam-
ily members, of whom the father was the most important, predicted the boy’s
delinquency. Aseltine (1995) conducted a three-wave panel study on 435
13–15-year-old adolescents and found that low parental supervision and
attachment had a weak negative relation to delinquency. Fergusson and
Horwood (2002), who studied parental functioning in relation to later trajec-
tories of delinquency among 12–21 year-olds indicated that parental
delinquency and exposure to parental conflict predicted delinquency in the
offspring. In their review, Wasserman and Seracini (2001) concluded that three
parenting practices are important in conduct problems: parent–child conflict,
lack of monitoring, and lack of positive involvement. Results on the associa-
tion between aspects of family structure (such as single-parent families, broken
homes or family size) and delinquency have been inconsistent and weak
(Loeber and Stouthamer-Loeber 1986; Sampson and Laub 1993; Wasserman
and Seracini 2001).
Most empirical studies on the causes and correlates of delinquency have
focused on adolescents. From previous research it can be concluded that many
family factors are significantly related to adolescent delinquency. However,
what we do not know is whether or not parenting or family characteristics
during adolescence are related to criminal behaviour in the long term. Does a
relationship exist between family characteristics and the delinquent behaviour
of young adults?
Contradictory hypotheses
In recent decades, attention has been turned to a developmental approach
towards crime (Farrington 2005). New developmental theories have been
created or existing theories have been reformulated. From these, at least
two rival hypotheses concerning the link between family factors during
adolescence and crime in young adulthood can be drawn. First, a significant
relationship can be derived from general static theories based on population
heterogeneity (Paternoster et al. 1997). For example, Gottfredson and
Hirschi (e.g. Hirschi and Gottfredson 2001) state that criminal behaviour
can be explained by the underlying factor of low self-control, which results
from poor parenting. Static theories postulate that the variation in criminal
behaviour is explained by individual differences in latent criminal
propensity, and these individual differences remain constant over time
Hoeve et al. Long-term effects of parenting on delinquency of male young adults 163
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