Criminal Justice





Criminal Justice>Crime>Families and Crime

Families and Crime

IX. Conclusion

Although this research paper has focused on a wide range of topics, it has provided clear and consistent support for a simple but important thesis: Exposure to inept parenting practices increases an individual’s risk for childhood conduct problems; adolescent delinquency; and adult antisocial behavior, including marital violence and child abuse. However, factors such as educational success, a conventional friendship network, a happy marriage, and a satisfying job can operate to moderate this risk. Unfortunately, individuals exposed to inept parenting often possess antisocial characteristics that reduce their probability of acquiring or gaining access to these moderators.

The theories and studies discussed in this research paper all suggest that inept parenting increases the chances of child conduct problems, adolescent delinquency, and adult crime; however, it is important to not overstate the case. On the one hand, it is true that the roots of an adult antisocial lifestyle appear to be planted during a person’s formative years, and parenting has much to do with the formation of these roots. The evidence reviewed in this paper indicates that it is extremely rare that a person who was a model child and adolescent suddenly begins to engage in criminal behavior as an adult. On the other hand, the relationship between childhood conduct problems and adult antisocial behavior is far from perfect—indeed, the majority of delinquent children grow up to be conventional adults!

It is also important to remember that other factors besides parenting have been shown to influence involvement in delinquent and criminal behavior. Factors such as lack of occupational opportunity, living in a disadvantaged neighborhood, stressful events, and racial discrimination are associated with crime and delinquency. If society is to address the problems of crime and delinquency, it must pursue policies that address the full range of factors that influence participation in such behavior. It is important that social scientists and policymakers not overlook the family. Indeed, the effects of many of the social factors just mentioned may be mediated by family processes. Family religiosity, for example, appears to reduce delinquency, at least in part, because religious parents tend to engage in high levels of monitoring and consistent discipline. Also, there is evidence that part of the association between community disadvantage and delinquency is explained by the disruptive effect that such community conditions have on parental behavior. In the past, criminologists and sociologists have often ignored findings regarding a link between parenting and delinquency, treating such findings as narrow and socially conservative. Research results are not socially conservative, however, if they lead to social change.

It is important that social scientists and policymakers think systematically about steps that might be taken to enhance the quality of care provided to children, especially during the formative years. Unlike criminological theories concerned with economic and community factors, theories of deviant behavior that focus on family processes are often seen as having few policy implications. This is simply not the case. It is probably no more difficult to formulate policies that enhance quality of parenting and child care than it is to design policies that increase access to jobs or reduce poverty and discrimination. Instead of simply blaming parents for not doing a better job of raising their children, society needs to pursue social policies that strengthen families and enhance the quality of child care.

Browse criminal justice research papers or view criminal justice research topics.

Bibliography:

  1. Akers, R. L. (1973). Deviant behavior: A social learning approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
  2. Amato, P. R. (2000). Consequences of divorce for adults and children. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62, 1269–1287.
  3. Baumrind, D. (1971). Types of adolescent life-styles. Developmental Psychology Monographs, 4(1, Pt. 2).
  4. Brody, G. H., Ge, X., Conger, R. D., Gibbons, F. X., Murry, V. M., Gerrard,M., & Simons, R. L. (2001). The influence of neighborhood disadvantage, collective socialization, and parenting on African American children’s affiliation with deviant peers. Child Development, 72, 1231–1246.
  5. Burt, C. H., Simons, R. L., & Simons, L. G. (2006). A longitudinal test of the effects of parenting and the stability of self control: Negative evidence for the general theory of crime. Criminology, 44, 353–396.
  6. Caspi, A., & Moffitt, T. E. (1995). The continuity of maladaptive behavior: From description to explanation in the study of antisocial behavior. In D. Cicchetti & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Vol. 2. Risk, disorder, and adaptation (pp. 472–511). New York: Wiley.
  7. Conger, R. D., Conger, K. J., Elder, G. H., Lorenz, F. O., Simons, R. L., & Whitbeck, L. B. (1992). A family process model of economic hardship and influences on adjustment of early adolescent boys. Child Development, 63, 526–541.
  8. Conger, R. D., & Simons, S. L. (1997). Life-course contingencies in the development of adolescent antisocial behavior: A matching law approach. In T. P. Thornberry (Ed.), Development theories of crime and delinquency: Advances in criminological theory (Vol. 7, pp. 55–99). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
  9. Felson, R. B. (2002). Violence and gender re-examined. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
  10. Gottfredson, M. H., & Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
  11. Hetherington, M., & Stanley-Hagan, M. M. (1999). Step families. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), Parenting and child development in “nontraditional” families (pp. 137–159). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
  12. Heyman, R. E., & Slep, A. M. (2002). Do child abuse and interparental violence lead to adult family violence? Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 864–870.
  13. Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of delinquency. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  14. Jacobson, N., & Gottman, J. (1998). When men batter women: Insights into ending abusive relationships. New York: Simon & Schuster.
  15. Johnson, M. P., & Ferraro, K. J. (2000). Research on domestic violence in the 1990s: Making distinctions. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62, 948–963.
  16. Maccoby, E. E., & Martin, J. A. (1983). Socialization in the context of the family: Parent–child interaction. In P. H. Mussen (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology (Vol. 4, pp. 1–101). New York: Wiley.
  17. Patterson, G. R. (1982). A social learning approach: Coercive family process. Eugene, OR: Castalia.
  18. Patterson, G. R., Reid, J. B., & Dishion, T. J. (1992). Antisocial boys. Eugene, OR: Castalia.
  19. Sampson, R. J. (1986). Neighborhood family structure and the risk of criminal victimization. In J. M. Byrne & R. J. Sampson (Eds.), The social ecology of crime (pp. 25–46). New York: Springer-Verlag.
  20. Sampson, R. J., & Laub, J. H. (1990). Crime and deviance over the life course: The salience of adult social bonds. American Sociological Review, 55, 609–627.
  21. Sampson, R. J., & Laub, J. H. (1993). Crime in the making: Pathways and turning points through life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  22. Simons, L. G., Burt, C. H., & Simons, R. L. (2008). A test of explanations for the effect of harsh parenting on the perpetration of dating violence and sexual coercion among college males. Violence and Victims, 23, 66–82.
  23. Simons, L. G., & Conger, R. D. (2007). Linking gender differences in parenting to a typology of family parenting styles and adolescent developmental outcomes. Journal of Family Issues, 28, 212–241.
  24. Simons, R. L., & Associates. (1996). Understanding differences between divorced and intact families. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  25. Simons, R. L., Simons, L. G., Burt, C. H., Drummond, H., Stewart, E. A., Brody, G. H., et al. (2006). Supportive parenting moderates the effect of discrimination upon anger, hostile view of relationships, and violence among African American youth. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 47, 373–389.
  26. Simons, R. L., Simons, L. G., & Wallace, L. E. (2004). Families, delinquency, and crime: Linking society’s most basic institution to antisocial behavior. New York: Oxford University Press.
  27. Straus, M. A. (1974). Cultural and social organizational influence on violence between family members. In R. Prince & D. Barrier (Eds.), Configurations: Biological and cultural factors in sexuality and family life (pp. 53–69). Lexington, MA: Lexington Books/D.C. Health.
  28. Straus, M. A., & Gelles, R. J. (1986). Social change and change in family violence from 1975 to 1985 as revealed by two national surveys. Journal of Marriage and Family, 48, 465–479.
  29. Straus, M. A., Gelles, R. J., & Steinmetz, S. K. (2006). Violence in American families: Behind closed doors. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.