Familial Socialization and Delinquency – Findings of a Longitudinal Study

• In Event: Longitudinal Predictors of Delinquent Behavior, Adolescent Decision Making, and Firearm Fatalities

Abstract

According to different explanatory models of delinquency, family plays an important role in predicting violent and other forms of criminal behavior. Factors analyzed in this context generally encompass structural and cultural variables like divorce or economic status (structural) or parenting practices (cultural). The majority of the findings in prior research are also based on cross-sectional studies. In the current study, findings of a longitudinal sample are presented. Over 1,000 children from a German major city with the average age of 11 were surveyed three times up to the average age of 13. Regarding violent behavior, having divorced parents, parental violence, and low levels of parental care predict violent perpetration. Regarding shop-lifting, only having divorced parents predicts shop-lifting perpetration. The findings are discussed with regard to a differential impact of familial socialization on delinquency.

Author

• Dirk Baier, ZHAW School of Social Work