Families and Offending: A Comparison of Multiple Indicators of Family Size

• In Event: Family Processes and Youth Offending

Abstract

Research on family size and delinquency has received little empirical attention despite calls in prior decades for greater attention to the relationship between the two. Extant studies suggest that there is a positive relationship between the number of children within a family and the likelihood of delinquency. These studies, however, employ different measures of family size and offending. What remains unknown, then, is the extent to which family size, when measured using a variety of indicators, consistently predicts offending. This study presents findings from analyses that employ such indicators and then discusses implications of the results for theory and research.

Authors

• Nicole L. Collier, Florida State University

• Daniel P. Mears, Florida State University