Punitive Parenting Practices, Present-orientation and Delinquency: Explaining the Nexus from an Evolutionary Perspective

• In Event: Parental and Family Influences on the Development of Criminal and Delinquent Behavior

Abstract

Punitive parenting practices, such as corporal and erratic punishment, have been found to be related to adolescent delinquency. Extant research has also shown that present-orientation (e.g., self-control) predicts delinquency. In spite of being well-documented, the relation between punitive parenting practices and delinquency is still in need of a theoretical explanation that is also backed up by empirical support. Drawing from evolutionary perspectives and developmental psychology, we propose and test the assumption that the effect of parental punitive practices on delinquency and antisocial behavior is in part explained by present-orientation. We argue that such practices induce an orientation towards dealing with the here-and-now rather than contemplating the future, which, in turn, results in delinquency. We tested this hypothesis using data from the Zurich Project on the Development of Children and Youths (zproso), an ongoing prospective longitudinal study of Swiss urban youth. In support of our hypothesis, the results indicate that present-orientation mediated the relation between punitive practices and delinquency. We conclude with a discussion of how recent evolutionary perspectives can inform criminological research and theorizing.

Authors

• Jean-Louis van Gelder, Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement

• Margit Averdijk, ETH Zurich

• Manuel Eisner, Cambridge University

• Denis Ribeaud, ETH Zurich