Family Transitions and Juvenile Delinquency*

Abstract

There is a large body of research that shows children from non-intact homes show higher rates of juvenile delinquency than children from intact homes, partially due to weaker parental control and supervision in non-intact homes. What has not been adequately addressed in the research is the influence of changes in family structure among individual adolescents over time on delinquent offending. Using the first and third waves of the National Youth Study, we assess the effect of family structure changes on changes in delinquent offending between waves through the intermediate process of changes in family time and parental attachment. Although prior research has documented adolescents in broken homes are more delinquent than youth in intact homes, the process of family dissolution is not associated with concurrent increases in offending. In contrast, family formation through marriage or cohabitation is associated with simultaneous increases in offending. Changes in family time and parental attachment account for a portion of the family formation effect on delinquency, and prior parental attachment and juvenile offending significantly condition the effect of family formation on offending.

Do Changes to Family Structure Affect Child and Family Outcomes? A Systematic Review of the Instability Hypothesis

“…In other studies, formation and dissolution variables were separated into different categories (e.g., formed marriage, exited marriage) so that direct comparisons of the mediation effect were possible. This was the case for six of the reviewed studies: Bachman et al (); Fagan (); Schoon, Jones, Cheng, and Maughan (); Schroeder, Osgood, and Oghia (); Shaff, Wolfinger, Kowaleski‐Jones, and Smith (); and Sun and Li (). Schoon et al () found evidence for a stress mediation for both forming and dissolving a relationship, with the negative effects of both types of transitions on cognitive ability being mediated by changes in poverty status.…”

Sociodemographic Evaluation of Children Pushed Into Crime In Eskisehir

“…İlgi eksikliği, dışarıda arkadaş grupları ile daha fazla vakit geçirmesine neden olabilmektedir. Çocuk kendisini ispatlama gereği hissedebilir, bu durum onu suça daha yatkın hale getirebilir (26,27). Yapılan çalışmada da ailenin kalabalık-laşması, sosyoekonomik seviyesinin azalması, yaşanılan mekanın apartman yerine gecekondu olmasının olgu sayısını artırdığı görülmektedir (Tablo 2).…”

Family Structure, Transitions and Psychiatric Disorders Among Puerto Rican Children

“…For instance, when studying a step-parent family, there are a number of ways the step-parent family may have been formed; it could be that a single-parent started a relationship, or a married couple divorced and one of the parental figures starts a new relationship. Thus, to capture the dynamic nature of family structures, it is important to also consider family transitions as they may be very relevant for understanding child outcomes (Brown 2006; Fomby and Cherlin 2007; Schroeder et al 2010). …”