Does the birth of a first child reduce the father's offending?

Abstract

A little investigated correlate of persistence and desistance is the effect of parenthood. Research suggests that for females particularly, parenthood plays an important role but the evidence for males is mixed. Yet, prior studies have not considered potential selection effects. This paper seeks to overcome this limitation by examining the effects of having a child on offending using propensity score matching, with data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, a longitudinal study of 411 South London males followed since childhood. Findings indicate that, while there are reductions in offending from several years before the child's birth to several years after the child's birth, the effects are not large. Further analyses examining 'shotgun' marriages show that reductions in offending are larger than for non-'shotgun' marriages. Also, if a man remains with the child for at least five years, then reductions in convictions are greater than when he does not.

From early dating violence to adult intimate partner violence: Continuity and sources of resilience in adulthood

“…In the peer domain, the significant association of peer support, but not peer conventional values, is consistent with Cullen (), who suggested that it is not just the existence of relationships, but instead what those relationships provide, that is protective. Finally, within the parenting domain, the lack of significance for attachment to child supports prior quantitative literature that did not find that parenthood is a turning point (Giordano et al, ; Laub and Sampson, ; Giordano et al, ; Theobald et al, ). Rather, the support provided by others with respect to parenting appears to be more protective.…”

The Intergenerational Transmission of Criminal Offending: Exploring Gender-specific Mechanisms

“…More recent directions in research have acknowledged that men's and women's lives consist of different experiences, some of which are biological in origin, and others embedded in social and cultural practices (Fineman 1995) and researchers have sought to understand the ways in which shared and unique life events of males and females differentially impact upon their criminal offending (e.g. see Theobald et al 2015).…”

Childhood risk and protective factors for early desisters, late desisters and life-course persistent offenders

“…However, Savolainen (2009) concluded that, in Finland, entering a cohabiting relationship had a greater effect in reducing offending than getting married. Similarly, having a child was followed by a decrease in offending in both studies (Savolainen, 2009;Theobald, Farrington, & Piquero, 2015). Conversely, separation from a spouse was followed by an increase in offending (Farrington & West, 1995;Theobald & Farrington, 2013).…”