Modeling the Patriarchal Factor in Juvenile Delinquency

Abstract

This article attempts to extend power-control theory by (a) explicitly accounting for the ideological component of patriarchy and (b) examining the influences of extrafamilial socialization agents—peer groups, the church, and television—on the development of patriarchal sex-role attitudes, taste for risk, and delinquent activity. Data generated by a study of high school seniors from three Canadian cities were used for the study. There were substantial gender differences among matriarchal, egalitarian, and patriarchal family types in regard to parental relational and instrumental control, but these differences were not in directions suggested by power-control theory. In a similar vein, the data did not support the argument that the analytic focus must extend beyond the nuclear family and its socialization methods to properly account for the development of patriarchal sex-role attitudes.