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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The aim of this article by Cernkovich and Giordano was to examine family interaction patterns associated with delinquent adolescent behavior.
METHODOLOGY:
The authors conducted a primary analysis of quasi-experimental, cross-sectional data obtained from 824 adolescents living in residences in a "North Central Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area." Ages ranged from 12-19. The authors reported that a multistage modified probability sample design was utilized. The authors stated that the area in which respondent recruitment took place was selected based on known probability. The authors stated that these area segments were stratified; the most up-to-date census data available for 1980 was used to determine the racial composition and average housing value. It was reported that teens of all ages were adequately represented. 21% were aged 12 or 13, 32% were 14 or 15, 32% were 16 or 17, and 15% were 18 or 19 years of age. 51% of the adolescents were females and 49% were males. 45% of the respondents were white, 50% were African-American and 5% were other. The authors used a modified version of Elliott and Ageton's (1980) self-report delinquency scale as a measure of delinquency involvement. Twenty-seven delinquent behaviors were included in the scale. Respondents were asked to indicate the frequency of delinquent activities they had been involved in during the past year. The authors' coding scheme was explained as: never = 0, once or twice a year = 2, once every 2-3 months = 5, once a month = 12, once every 2-3 weeks = 22, once a week = 52, and 2-3 times a week or more = 130. A delinquency/offender typology was developed as a dependent variable based on the seriousness and frequency of delinquent acts committed. The five levels of delinquency involvement included: 1) non-offenders, 2) low frequency minor offenders, 3) high-frequency minor offenders, 4) low-frequency major offenders, and 5) high-frequency major offenders. The authors stated that offenders were coded and ranged from 1 through 5; high-frequency major offenders received the highest values. It was reported that 49% of respondents lived with both parents, 28% resided with their mother only, 3% with their father only, 11% with mother and stepfather, 3% with father and stepmother, and 6% with other relatives. The authors stated that the analysis was limited to both-parent families (n=462), mother-only families (n=265), and mother-stepfather families (n=103).
The authors conducted a principle components, oblique rotation, factor analysis on 28 family-oriented items from their interview schedule. Seven scales were developed. These included: 1) Control and Supervision--the degree to which parents supervised children's behavior (3 items); 2) Identity Support--the parent's support and acceptance of the youth's own identity--(4 items); 3) Caring and Trust--the extent of relationship intimacy (e.g., family caring, trust and affection); 4) Intimate Communication--the degree of shared feelings and thoughts (3 items); 5) Instrumental Communication--the content of intimate communication related to future plans (4 items); 6) Parental Disapproval of Peers--how parents regard their child's peer choices (2 items); and 7) Conflict--the extent to which parents and adolescents engaged in arguments or disagreed.
The authors hypothesized that some dimensions of family interaction would function similarly in different family structures, while others would be characteristic of one specific kind of family structure. Data analysis involved analyses of variance.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
A four-way analysis of variance revealed that there were significant differences between males and females on most family dimensions: caring and trust, control and supervision, intimate communication, conflict, and instrumental communication. The authors stated that there were higher levels of parental caring and trust reported by males. Females ranked high on conflict with parents. The authors argued, that these findings were consistent with previous research which has indicated female subjection to higher levels of control and supervision by parents compared with males. Also, the authors contended that females were more apt to engage in intimate and instrumental communication when compared with males. Few significant race differences were found: non-whites reported significantly higher levels of caring and trust (p<.001), and control and supervision (p<.01), when compared with non-whites; whites reported the highest levels of conflict with parents (p<.001). In addition, the authors stated that, importantly there were no significant differences found for the home status family factor. The authors argued that this revealed that broken homes, single female parented homes, and homes with a stepfather, were not necessarily negative environments for adolescents. The authors stated that, excluding intimate communication, each family relationship dimension was significantly related to delinquent activity (p<.001). Identity support decreased linearly over the five offender categories; non-offenders reported the highest levels, and offenders indicated the lowest levels. Conflict increased: non-offenders reported the lowest levels and high-frequency major offenders reported the highest levels. The authors argued that their expectations were realized; delinquents experienced lower levels of caring and trust, control and supervision, identity support and instrumental communication. Most delinquent adolescents were more apt to experience conflict with parents and delinquents' parents were more likely to criticize their children's peers. The authors reported that there was an interaction effect for gender and race, and control and supervision: non-white females reported highest supervision levels (4.29), white males the lowest (3.68). The authors contended that sex differences were greater than race differences. The authors found a significant sex-race interaction effect in which nonwhite females reported the highest levels of identity support (M=3.43). There were significantly lower levels reported by white females (M=3.29), white males (M=3.35), and non-white males (M=3.26). A significant sex-home status interaction was found for the parental disapproval of peers factor. Among males, those in mother-only (M=2.19) and two-parent (M=2.17) homes indicated greater levels of disapproval compared with those in mother/stepfather homes (M=2.00). Females in mother/stepfather homes reported greater levels of disapproval (M=2.25) compared with those in two-parent homes (M=1.94), and in mother-only homes (M=2.07). Therefore, overall, females in mother/stepfather homes reported higher disapproval levels than males. The authors also found a significant delinquency-sex interaction for identity support in which female non-offenders reported the highest identity support levels (M=3.99) compared with males (M=3.31). A significant interaction effect was also evident for delinquency, sex, and home status, control and supervision in which female non-offenders (and all females in the mother/stepfather category) indicated the greatest levels of control and supervision. The authors found that male, high-frequency, major offenders from mother-only family structures reported the lowest levels of control and supervision.
The authors stated that a multiple regression analysis revealed that all family factors were moderately associated with delinquent activity (r squared=.147), except for intimate communication which was not associated with delinquency. However, an unstandardized slope coefficient of -.404, for instrumental communication among mother/stepfather families was discussed as a noteworthy explanation for the variance in delinquency. Further, parental disapproval of peers was found to be more strongly associated with delinquency among adolescents in mother/ stepfather type families (.251) than in any of the other home categories. The authors stated that it was difficult to confirm these findings since sample sizes were small and large standard errors were expected. They stated that all variables were related to delinquency in the anticipated direction apart from intimate communication which was positively associated with delinquent activity. The authors argued that, although this was difficult to explain, perhaps the questionnaire items pertaining to intimate communication between parent and adolescent were not valid indicators of such communication. It was stated that instrumental communication, identity support, control and supervision, and conflict, appeared to significantly relate to delinquent activity in all family environments. The authors reported that based on the results the most delinquent adolescents had the lowest score on the combination of intimate communication and instrumental communication in both-parent homes. They suggested that a combination of high scores on these two variables was denotative of strong attachment and delinquency inhibition.
A further regression analysis of family interaction variables by sex, race and race-sex subgroups, revealed that the amount of variance in delinquency ranged from a high of 22.5% for white males, to a low of 7.5% for non-white males. It was found that more variance was accounted for among females than males (14.2% compared with 12.2%). The authors explained that this finding was in line with previous debate; that social control theory was superior in explaining female, rather than male, delinquency. Family variables were said to explain delinquency among whites much better than among nonwhites (17.8% compared with 11.2%). It was suggested that for both groups, identity support, disapproval of peers, control and supervision, and instrumental communication were portentous predictors. It was also found that for the four race-sex subgroups, more variance in delinquency was explained among whites, male (22.5%) and female (17.5%), than among nonwhites, male (7.5%), or female (14.5%). The strongest predictors of delinquency were reported to be instrumental communication and intimate communication among white males, control and supervision among nonwhite males, conflict among white females, and control and supervision among nonwhite females. Finally, the authors stated that, for the most part, control and supervision, identity support, parental disapproval of peers, and instrumental communication were significantly associated with delinquent activity across all subgroups (p<.001). Intimate communication was a more salient predictor of delinquency among whites, males, and white males, compared with any other subgroup. Conflict was the most significant predictor of delinquency among females, especially white females (p<.001).
The authors concluded that while peer and school variables may be more powerful predictors of delinquent activity among adolescents, family variables also contributed meaningfully to its understanding and prediction. Also, family relationships usurp a major role in social control theory as a model of delinquency. It was argued that there was no significant variation in family structure, however, there were important sex and race differences in family interaction dynamics. This was said to have indicated that family dynamics were notably more important than family structure in the development of delinquency. Finally, the authors argued that their findings supported a multidimensional view of family attachment.
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
The authors suggested that future research be directed towards investigating socio-demographic subgroups to assist in the prediction of delinquent activity among adolescents.
(CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
Delinquency Causes
Family Conflict
Family Relations
Gender Differences
Parent Child Relations
Parent Child Conflict
Racial Differences
Social Control
Juvenile Female
Juvenile Male
Juvenile Delinquency
Juvenile Crime
Juvenile Offender
Theory
Family Environment
Male Crime
Male Offender
Male Delinquency
Female Crime
Female Delinquency
Female Offender
Crime Causes
Mother Child Relations
Mother Child Conflict
Step-Family
Step-Parent
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