NCJ Number
247477
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 54 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2014 Pages: 551-567
Date Published
July 2014
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Based on a longitudinal multilevel analysis of two waves of panel data on a Dutch sample of 603 adolescents (ages 12-19), this study examined the extent to which a change in parenting was related to a change in the time spent in criminogenic settings (environments with social and physical characteristics linked to criminal behavior).
Abstract
The study found that parental monitoring decreased during adolescence, which was also reported from previous studies. This may indicate that parents grant adolescents more freedom as adolescents seek more independence and self-sufficiency. Findings also indicated that a decrease in parental monitoring over time was not related to an increase in the amount of time adolescents spent in criminogenic settings. This suggests that a decrease in parental monitoring during adolescence may be a normative development and not a risk factor for delinquency. The study also determined that with the co-occurrence of another variable, i.e., decreases in the quality of the relationship with parents, adolescents are at increased risk for interaction with criminogenic settings. These findings suggest that although parents tend to allow adolescents more freedom and autonomy, this must be in the context of a regular and attentive interaction with parents that includes exchanges of information between parents and adolescents about where they are going, what they are doing, and with whom, with appropriate parental input about the adolescent's decisionmaking. The study, called the Study of Peers, Activities, and Neighborhood (SPAN) is a longitudinal study that consists of two waves of data collection among adolescents (11-17 years old at the first wave and 13-20 years old at the second wave). 3 tables and 54 references