Generational Differences in the Conditioning Effects of Adult Transition Events on Parental Social Ties and Crime During Emerging Adulthood

• In Event: Trauma, Resilience, and Life Transitions: Childhood through Emerging Adulthood

Abstract

Scholarship in criminology has largely focused on the influence of social ties to parents through an adolescent-limited perspective. Extant literature often ignores how this relationship changes when key life transitions occur in contemporary society compared to decades ago. The objective of this paper is to understand whether transitions into marriage, employment, and college in emerging adulthood affect the influence of parental social ties on crime, and if these patterns vary across generations. Multilevel modeling techniques are used to examine the moderating effects of key adult transition events for Baby Boomers (National Youth Survey) and Millennials (National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997). Results indicate that marriage, employment, and college enrollment are not significant moderators for Baby Boomers or Millennials with respect to crime. Further investigation is warranted to fully understand how key life transition events may condition the influence of social ties to parents on crime during emerging adulthood across generations.

Author

• Kristin Lloyd, Georgia Southern University