A social control explanation of the relationship between family structure and delinquent behaviour

Parents, Friends, and Serious Delinquency

“…The sampling method and small sample size precluded a more explicit operationalization of the family structure measure. Prior research has noted the inadequacies associated with dichotomizing family structure (Free, 1991;Kierkus & Baer, 2002;Rebellon, 2002;Wells & Rankin, 1991). 11 For example, studies have indicated that the presence of a stepparent places a child at risk to engage in delinquency because children are less likely to be strongly attached to nonbiological parents (McCarthy, Gersten, & Langner, 1982;Rankin, 1983;Rebellon, 2002).…”

“…Other studies have found that the effect of family structure is largely an indirect one through parental process variables (Demuth & Brown, 2004;Kierkus & Baer, 2002;Sokol-Katz et al, 1997). Although these findings suggest that the effect of family structure is largely mediated by parental attachment and parental supervision, such an indirect relationship has been questioned by recent research reporting no differences between four different types of family arrangements (i.e., intact, divorced, widowed, and never married) and levels of parental attachment and control (Mack, Leiber, Featherstone, & Monserud, 2007).…”

“…The review of the literature within the family and peer domains highlight a number of complex relationships between parental and peer processes and their relationship with delinquency. Prior studies have found the structure of juveniles' home lives to be directly (but weakly) related to their delinquent behavior (Canter, 1982;Wells & Rankin, 1991), whereas other studies have indicated an indirect effect through parental processes (Demuth & Brown, 2004;Kierkus & Baer, 2002;Sokol-Katz et al, 1997) or have reported no such effect (Mack et al, 2007). Furthermore, research examining the role of parental bonds on delinquency has, in some instances, found it to be mediated by parental supervision (Jang & Smith, 1997).…”

Adult Criminal Involvement: A Cross-Sectional Inquiry Into Correlates and Mechanisms Over the Life Course

“…Similarly, parental involvement or noninvolvement may become less salient as predictors of nonviolent crime when considering whether a child has gone on to develop aggressive habits when interacting with other children. While family experiences have been linked to adult criminal involvement (Hoffmann, 2003;Kierkus & Baer, 2002;Sorenson & Brownfield, 1995), it has also been shown that parental influences are no longer significant in predicting crime when aggression is considered (Huesmann et al, 2002).…”

“…In Bronfenbrenner's model (1999), the family is placed one level beyond the individual in the mesosystem. Adult criminal involvement has been associated with a number of factors that fall into the mesosystem of familial influences such as adverse childhood experiences, including negative childhood learning experiences, inadequate social bonding, parental neglect, and a lack of family cohesion (Farrington, Barnes, & Lambert, 1996;Hoffmann, 2003;Kierkus & Baer, 2002;Sorenson & Brownfield, 1995). In addition to these processes, family characteristics such as family size have been linked to adult criminal involvement (Argys, Rees, Averett, & Witoonchart, 2006;Barrett & Turner, 2006;Reinhertz, Giacconia, Hauf, Wasserman, & Paradis, 2000;Sampson & Laub, 1993).…”