Examining Family Size and Delinquency

• In Event: Families and Offending

Abstract

Studies that have focused on family size and delinquency suggest that there is a positive relationship between the number of children within a family and the likelihood of delinquency. However, several considerations raise questions about whether the relationship in fact exists and, if it does, if it is positive or negative. There are, for example, relatively few studies that have examined this relationship, few use representative samples, and many rely on small samples and use limited operationalizations of family size. We present findings from a study that seeks to determine what, if any, the relationship is between family size and delinquency.

Authors

• Nicole L. Collier, Florida State University

• Daniel P. Mears, Florida State University