Impact of Parental Stressors on the Intergenerational Transmission of Antisocial Behavior

• NCJ Number: 226376
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 38 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2009 Pages: 312-322
• Author(s): Terence P. Thornberry; Adrienne Freeman-Gallant; Peter J. Lovegrove
• Date Published: March 2009
• Length: 11 pages
• Grant Number(s): 86-JN-CX-0007; 96-MU-FX-0014; 2004-MU-FX-0062; 5-R01-DA020195; 5-R01-DA05512; SBR-9123299; SES-9123299
• Sponsoring Agency: National Science Foundation; Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP); National Institute on Drug Abuse; National Institute of Mental Health; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the extent to which parental antisocial behavior was related to a child’s antisocial behavior and, if so, the extent to which the effect was mediated by parental stressors and parenting behaviors.

Abstract

The study found significant levels of intergenerational continuity in antisocial behavior for mothers and fathers who lived with or supervised their children, but this was not the case for fathers who had low levels of contact with their children. Of the two parental stressors examined (depressive symptoms and the number of negative life events experienced), depressive symptoms were the most consistent mediator for the child’s antisocial behavior. Depressive symptoms both directly and indirectly impacted parenting behaviors, which in turn influenced the child’s early onset of antisocial behaviors. The findings imply that antisocial behavior in childhood stems from parents’ antisocial and adverse parental behaviors, which were rooted in a parent’s own adolescent development. Study data were obtained from both the Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS) and the Rochester Intergenerational Study. The RYDS project, which began in 1988, was designed to investigate the development of antisocial behavior in adolescents. The sample consisted of 1,000 seventh and eighth graders from the public schools in 1988. Subjects were selected to overrepresent high-risk youth in an urban community. Of the 1,000 original participants, 591 (186 mothers and 405 fathers) had a child eligible to participate in the intergenerational study as of the 9th year. Parent’s adolescent antisocial behavior was based on self-report data collected in their adolescent interviews. The study measured depressive symptoms, negative life events (e.g., the death of a relative or friend, a serious illness, or financial problems), attachment to the child, and the child’s antisocial behavior. 3 figures, 1 table, appended questionnaire, and 62 references