Parental Criminality and Low Self-Control: An Examination of Delinquency

• NCJ Number: 227909
• Journal: Criminal Justice Studies: A Critical Journal of Crime Law and Society Volume: 22 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2009 Pages: 141-152
• Author(s): George E. Higgins
• Date Published: June 2009
• Length: 12 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the relationship between parental low self-control, low self-control, and delinquency.

Abstract

Results of the study showed that parental crime did not have a link with low self-control and that parental low self-control did have a link with low self-control and delinquency. Researchers have shown that parenting practices are important in self-control theory. The purpose of this study was to shed light on the view that parental self-control mediates the link between low self-control and delinquency. The study presented a three factor model (parental crime to low self-control to delinquency) that was compared to two theoretically derived alternative models. Data for the study came from the 1980 maternal self-report, the 1992 and 1994 maternal self-report, and the 1998 child self-report from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Figures, references, and appendixes