Parental Low Self-Control, Family Dynamics, and Adolescent Delinquency

• In Event: New Directions in Self-Control Research

Abstract

Scholars have devoted considerable attention to the continuity of offending across generations. Yet, only recently have researchers started to address the role that parental self-control plays in explaining this continuity (e.g., Boutwell and Beaver, 2010; Nofziger, 2008). Given the central role the concept of self-control occupies within the field of criminology and related disciplines, additional research is warranted to more fully understand how the self-control of parents potentially contributes to delinquency of children. To investigate this issue we make use of original survey data collected from parents of adolescents who have been officially processed through a juvenile assessment center alongside official arrest records of adolescents. The data are uniquely suited to address this topic as they allow for a detailed examination of the interrelationships between parental levels of self-control, family dynamics, parenting practices, and adolescent involvement in officially recorded delinquency.

Authors

• Ryan C. Meldrum, Florida International University

• George Connolly, Florida International University

• Rob Guerette, Florida International University