Mama’s Boy or Daddy’s Girl? Delinquent Consequences of Family Instability by Parent for Youth.

• In Event: Poster Session I

Abstract

Recent estimates from demographers indicate that more than half (52%) of youth in the United States will experience family instability (movement from one type of family structure to a different type of family structure) before the age of 12. As “non-traditional” father headed households (single father, cohabiting, or stepparent) become more commonplace today than in the past this might influence the delinquency rates of those specific youth, as evidence suggests that youth who belong to a non-traditional father headed household are at higher risk for being delinquent than youth in a “non-traditional” mother headed household (single, cohabiting, or stepparent) . This phenomenon has only been looked with family structure being a static measure, even though these youth transitioning might be at higher risk for delinquency. The current study, therefore, seeks to determine whether the effect on delinquency is larger when transitioning to a non-traditional mother headed household versus a non-traditional father headed household taking into account known risk for delinquency. To test this relationship, I will employ longitudinal data from the second National Evaluation of G.R.E.A.T.

Author

• Walter W. Shelley, University at Albany (SUNY)