Parenting, Age, and Delinquency: An Expanded Examination of Self-Control Theory

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1993) general theory of crime indicates that low levels of self-control leads to subsequent delinquent actions. Additionally, multiple studies suggest an indirect effect of parent and family factors on delinquency through self-control. Furthermore, evidence exists that ethnicity may affect this relationship, but no studies have explicitly examined this paradigm. Therefore, the present study was conducted to elucidate the direct and indirect effects of self-control on delinquent behaviors including particularly salient family factors based on prior research. Data including demographic information, parental trust, parent-child communication, self-control, and delinquency. A total of 996 male adolescents who were adjudicated through juvenile court were recruited from a correctional setting. Several models of moderated mediation were tested with age (divided into three age cohorts) as the moderator and self-control as the mediator on the relationship between parental trust, parent-child communication, parental alienation, and delinquency. Results indicated self-control mediated the relationship between parental trust and delinquent behavior, with age moderating that relationship at the youngest and oldest age cohorts. In the second and third models, self-control mediated the relationship between parental communication and delinquent behavior, as well as between parental alienation and delinquency, with different age levels moderating that relationship in both models.

Authors

• Rebecca Fix, Auburn University

• Janice E. Clifford, Auburn University

• Barry R. Burkhart, Auburn University

• Spencer T. Fix, University of North Carolina at Charlotte