NCJ Number
60198
Date Published
Unknown
Length
18 pages
Annotation
THIS STUDY INDICATES THAT THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN IN THE FAMILY IS POSITIVELY RELATED TO THEIR CHANCE OF BECOMING DELINQUENT.
Abstract
THIS FACT POSSIBLY COULD BE DUE TO THE LIMITED AMOUNT OF RESOURCES THAT, AS THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN GROWS, MUST BE DISTRIBUTED TO EACH AND DIMINISH WITH EVERY CHILD THIS PARADIGM REFERS TO VAROUS RESOURCES THAT MAY INCLUDE, BESIDES INCOME, THE PHYSICAL LIVING SPACE AVAILABLE TO THE FAMILY AND PARENTAL ATTENTION, SUPERVISION, AND CONTROL. WHEN A FAMILY GROWS, THE RESIDENTIAL DENSITY BECOMES HIGHER, A FACTOR THAT HAS BEEN FOUND TO BE CORRELATED WITH DELINQUENCY. A LARGE NUMBER OF CHILDREN MAY REDUCE THE INVOVEMENT OF THE CHILD WITH HIS PARENT AND LIMIT PARENTAL CONTROL. NYE (1952) OBSERVED THAT IN FAMILIES WITH A LARGE NUMBER OF CHILDREN, THERE IS CONSIDERABLY LOWER ADOLESCENT-PARENT ADJUSTMENT. ANOTHER POSSIBILITY IS THAT THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN AFFECTS DELINQUENCY PRONENESS THROUGH ITS EFFECTS UPON THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE CHILDREN, SINCE INTELLIGENCE IS NEGATIVELY RELATED TO DELINQUENCY (HIRSCHI AND HINDELANG, 1977). APPLIED IMPLICATION OF THIS STUDY IS THAT THE SPREAD OF BIRTH-CONTROL TECHNIQUE MAY REDUCE DELINQUENCY. ALTERNATIVELY, SOCIAL SERVICES SHOULD BE PROVIDED WHICH WOULD NULLIFY THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF FAMILY SIZE. TABULAR DATA AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE INCLUDED IN THE REPORT. (MJW)