NCJ Number
198009
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology Volume: 44 Issue: 4 Dated: October 2002 Pages: 425-458
Date Published
October 2002
Length
34 pages
Annotation
This study was designed to determine whether the parental-attachment component of social control theory could explain why family structure (presence or absence of one or both biological parents in the home) is related to delinquency.
Abstract
The literature that reports on previous research in this area generally agrees that family structure correlates strongly with delinquent behavior within the home, minor transgressions of the law, and status offenses. It is not yet clear whether family structure is a significant predictor of more serious types of delinquency. Most researchers, however, do not believe that family structure is directly related to delinquent behavior; rather, they suggest that familial disruption is associated with juvenile delinquency because it is related to a variety of various parent-child interaction variables more directly related to the child's behavior. Social control theory suggests that delinquent acts occur when an individual's bond to society is weak or broken. This bond is theorized to have four basic elements: attachment to conventional others, commitment to conformity, involvement in conventional activities, and a belief in the legitimacy of the law. Weakness in any one of these elements can be criminogenic, both on its own and in combination with the other elements. In the current study, the data source was the Addiction Research Foundation's Ontario Student Drug Use Survey, which involved a representative sample of school children residing in the Province of Ontario (n=1,891). In the survey, family structure was operationalized by using a four-category question. Respondents were classified as living with both their natural parents (intact home), with only one natural parent (single parent home), with a natural parent and a stepparent (reconstituted home), or with neither natural parent (neither natural parent home). Other independent variables measured were age, sex, family socioeconomic status (SES), affectional identification, direct supervision, indirect supervision, communication with mother, communication with father, and relational quality. Sixteen measures of delinquent behavior constituted the independent variables. The findings suggest that family structure, notably the absence of one or both biological parents, is a significant predictor of most self-reported delinquent behavior at the zero-order level and when age, sex, and SES are controlled. When parent attachment was entered into the regression equation, the magnitudes of the relationships between family structure and delinquency were substantially reduced. This suggests that the parental attachment component of social control theory may provide a plausible explanation for why certain family structures are linked to delinquency. 3 figures, 4 tables, 7 notes, and 48 references