Parental Supervision - A Neglected Aspect of Delinquency

• NCJ Number: 70786
• Journal: British Journal of Criminology Volume: 20 Issue: 3 Dated: (July 1980) Pages: 203-235
• Author(s): H Wilson
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 33 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This British study of juvenile delinquency and parental supervision was designed to test the findings of a previous British study and to investigate whether any exceptions to these findings existed under different conditions.

Abstract

The previous study compared child rearing methods of families with delinquent children to those with nondelinquent children and found that the nondelinquent families typically used strict parental supervision that limited children's freedom of movement. This subsequent study contains two subsamples: families in deprived, inner-city areas; and families in suburban housing. Each subsample has families representing low, moderate, and severe degrees of social handicap. Social handicap is measured by scoring certain factors: father's social class, size of family, adequacy of school clothing, school attendance over two terms, and parental contact with the school. A total of 595 children between the ages of 10 and 17 were studied in the 2 subsamples of 120 families, including 385 boys and 210 girls. Comparing data for boys from the inner-city families with those from the suburban families revealed that delinquency rates are higher in the inner city than in the suburbs, although this trend is not statistically significant. Delinquency increases significantly with increased degree of social handicap and with increased parental laxness. There is also a higher rate of convictions and cautions in the inner city than in the suburbs. Among girls, rate of delinquency is much lower than among boys, and it is not possible to make any useful comparisons. Other findings show that more than one third of the 120 families have a parent with a police record, the proportion being higher among inner-city families. Among the low socially handicapped group, the proportion of parents with a police record is 28 percent, and among the severe socially handicapped group, it is 50 percent. Finally, it appears that the effect of parental supervision is more important than the effect of social handicap on juvenile behavior in areas with high offender rates. Tables and approximately 30 references are provided.