Parenthood and adult criminal offending: The importance of relationship quality

Ganem, Natasha M.; Agnew, Robert

doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2007.09.008

Cited by 23 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Failure at the provider role through conventional means may lead to criminal activity as an alternative way to fulfill these responsibilities. Though clearly consistent with strain theory (Agnew ; Ganem and Agnew ), we are not aware of any prior research examining the effect of role strain within a partnership on crime.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 67%

Romantic Relationships and Criminal Desistance: Pathways and Processes

2014

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In dominant theories of criminal desistance, marital relationship formation is understood to be a key “turning point” away from deviant behavior. Empirical studies supporting this claim have largely focused on the positive role of marriage in men's desistance from crime, and relatively few studies have examined the role that non-marital relationships may play in desistance. Drawing on 138 longitudinal in-depth interviews with 22 men and women reentering society from prison, this paper extends the scope of desistance research by additionally considering the significance of more fleeting and fluid relationships, and the diverse processes through which romantic relationships of all sorts are linked with criminal behaviors. We present an empirically-based typology detailing six processes, grouped within three conceptual categories, through which romantic relationships had their effects. These pathways include material circumstances, social bonds and interactions, and emotional supports and stressors. We also consider gender differences in these processes. While more tenuous bonds to marginally conventional partners would seem to exert little effect, as one of the few relationships and social roles available to many former prisoners, we found that they wielded important influence, if not always in a positive direction.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 67%

Romantic Relationships and Criminal Desistance: Pathways and Processes

2014

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“…The post-transition trend showing increases in criminal involvement is intriguing because many existing studies described an opposite relationship between parenthood and crime (see Savolainen 2009;Kreager et al 2010;Kruttschnitt 1998, Kerr et al 2011). However, desistance may occur only in certain conditions such as sharing a common household with the other parent, having the custody of the child, or having a high quality parent-child relationship (Farrington and West 1995;Ganem and Agnew 2007;Giordano et al 2011). Because in this at-risk groups we cannot be sure that such conditions were met, we can speculate that the increase in crime is explained by the lack of a 'desirable' parental environment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For males, fatherhood had stronger crime-inhibiting effects when their children were born within a marital relationship (Savolainen 2009), when fathers ensured highquality relationships with their children (Ganem and Agnew 2007), and financial strain and lack of social capital did not affect fathers (Giordano et al 2011). For females, parenthood inhibited offending when they were involved in daily childrearing (Yule et al 2014), shared a common household with the biological father, displayed ''wantedness'' of the pregnancy (Giordano et al 2011), did not suffer from disadvantageous socioeconomic conditions (Edin and Kefalas 2005) and had high-quality relationships with their children (Ganem and Agnew 2007). Such context effects might sustain an ongoing desistance process or serve as an opportunity for change for those already motivated to desist (Giordano et al 2011).…”

Section: Empirical Background Parenthood and Desistance: A Controversmentioning

confidence: 99%

Timing of Change in Criminal Offending Around Entrance into Parenthood: Gender and Cross-Country Comparisons for At-Risk Individuals

Zoutewelle-Terovan

Skarðhamar

2016

J Quant Criminol

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Objectives This article examines the timing of change in criminal offending relative to entrance into parenthood, in light of four competing theoretical frameworks (social control, routine activities, strain and cognitive transformation). Moreover, it analyzes whether criminal developments over time are gender-or country-specific. Methods Using samples of men and women at risk of offending in the Netherlands and Norway, this study investigates monthly changes in offending probabilities around the time of first birth (5 years before, 5 years after). The implemented smoothing splines technique allowed for a flexible exploration of changes in offending probabilities for both prechildbirth and post-childbirth periods. Results The results show that the probabilities to offend decline ahead of childbirth for all individuals analyzed. The post-childbirth period is characterized by increases in offending probabilities. However, in these overall trends, the exact timing and magnitude of change differs by gender and country of residence. Conclusions The results offer partial support for the cognitive transformation hypothesis because offending rates decline before childbirth. The post-childbirth period converges with assumptions of the strain theory (for males in particular) because offending probabilities increase in this period. Additional analysis investigating changes in property offending shows that economic strain does not explain the upward trend of the overall offending after childbirth.

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“…For example, in Sampson and Laub's (1993) qualitative narratives of the Glueck offenders, the importance of social capital in adult relationships ''especially between husbands and wives'' seemed paramount in encouraging change but also relevant was having a child or children -especially if the man had strong social bonds to them (p.220). Using a national survey from the US, Ganem and Agnew (2007) showed that regardless of age and gender parents were significantly less likely to be involved in crime if they had high quality relationships with their children. To add further complication about 'child-on-crime' effects, Farrington and West (1995) found that the men who had their first child after at least nine months of marriage were less likely to be convicted than those who had their first child before marriage or before nine months of marriage, but this result could reflect selection effects.…”

Section: The Birth Of a Child And Desistance From Offendingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Theobald¹,

Farrington

2014

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology

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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.

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Parenthood and adult criminal offending: The importance of relationship quality

Cited by 23 publications

References 39 publications

Romantic Relationships and Criminal Desistance: Pathways and Processes

Romantic Relationships and Criminal Desistance: Pathways and Processes

Timing of Change in Criminal Offending Around Entrance into Parenthood: Gender and Cross-Country Comparisons for At-Risk Individuals

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

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