Changing with the times? A generational comparison of the effects of parental social ties on crime and drug use during emerging adulthood.

• In Event: Deviance and Desistance in Emerging Adulthood

Abstract

Objective: The relationship between parents and their children is arguably one of the most long-term and enduring bonds experienced throughout the life-course. But as a field, criminology has largely focused on this relationship through an adolescent-limited perspective. The objective of this paper is to close this gap in the literature.

Data/Methods: Multilevel modeling techniques are used to examine within-person changes in the effect of parental social ties on crime and drug use during emerging adulthood for Baby Boomers (National Youth Survey) and Millennials (National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997).

Results: The relationship between parental social ties and offending is strongest during adolescence for both Baby Boomers and Millennials. Further, the relationship between parental social ties and drug use peaks in early emerging adulthood for Baby Boomers and late adolescence for Millennials. For the Millennial cohort, there is no difference in likelihood of offending or drug use for those who have social ties to parents and those who do not.

Conclusion: Further investigation is warranted to fully understand the relationship between social ties to parents and problem behaviors during emerging adulthood.

Author

• Kristin Lloyd, Georgia Southern University