Leaving the Bank of Mom and Dad: Financial Independence and Delinquency Desistance in Emerging Adulthood

• In Event: Examining the Impact of Job Skills, Work, and Financial Independence on Offending Outcomes

Abstract

The transition to adulthood has changed for recent generations of young people, with traditional markers of adulthood often postponed or out of reach until later ages. Young people today cite different criteria for becoming an adult (Arnett, 1997). In this study we focus on one of these, financial independence from parents, examining how it relates to delinquency. We hypothesize that gaining financial independence from parents will lead to desistance from delinquency, but that other factors may play a moderating role. Using longitudinal data from a general population sample of Dutch emerging adults, aged 18-24 years, fixed-effects models were run to examine the effect of within-person changes in financial independence on self-reported delinquency. Using lagged models, we found that when respondents were financially independent they reported committing fewer crimes in the subsequent six month period compared to when they were financially dependent. This effect was moderated by respondents’ living situation: financial dependence increased crime to a greater extent when respondents were still living with their parents. As soon as they started living on their own, the desistance effect of financial independence was not as strong. These results suggest that gaining a more adult status decreases motivation for adolescent-like delinquent behavior.

Authors

• Jessica M. Hill, NSCR

• Victor V. van der Geest, VU University

• Arjan A.J. Blokland, NSCR