Testing Interactional Theory: An Examination of Reciprocal Causal Relationships Among Family, School, and Delinquency

• NCJ Number: 131768
• Journal: Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 82 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1991) Pages: 3-35
• Author(s): T P Thornberry; A J Lizotte; M D Krohn; M Farnworth; S J Jang
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 33 pages
• Grant Number(s): 86-JN-CX-0007(S-3); 5 R01 DA05512-02; SES-8912274
• Sponsoring Agency: National Science Foundation; Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP); National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Adolescents' connection to parents and school help to prevent them from becoming delinquent, but the causes of delinquency are more complex than previously thought.

Abstract

Delinquent behavior and family deterioration each perpetuate the other; poor school commitment likewise causes and is caused by delinquent behavior. This interactional, bidirectional perspective challenges the old unidirectional causal order which maintained that the school and family institutions influence delinquent behavior, but are not reciprocally influenced. According to the interactional theory, human behavior develops dynamically over time as people interact and receive consequences of past behavior. As people behave delinquently, they further weaken their bonds to family and school, thereby establishing a behavioral trajectory toward increasing delinquency. Data from the Rochester Youth Development Study of 987 seventh and eighth grade students during the 1987-1988 academic year generally substantiated interactional theory. Students were interviewed in three waves; parental influences tended to diminish between waves two and three. Results indicate that delinquency further weakens the bonds to family and school which in turn increases delinquency. 2 tables 4 figures, and 2 appendixes