1-106 - The Family Context and Youth Antisocial Behavior

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

It is well-documented that risk-taking and delinquency increase (and peak) during the adolescent years. For some youth, however, delinquent behavior may have profound effects on the course of his or her life (Steinberg, 2008). Notably, adolescents still rely greatly on their parents for emotional guidance, boundary setting, and support (Laursen & Collins, 2009). Indeed, certain parenting practices may buffer (or exacerbate) youth problem behavior across childhood and into adolescence (Collins et al., 2000). The goal of this symposium is to present cutting-edge, nuanced research on the relation between the family context and antisocial behavior, with an eye toward implications for intervention.
To this end, three presentations will discuss the interplay between antisocial behavior during adolescence and the home environment. The first paper uses a socio-ecological approach to evaluate whether a youth’s home environment moderates the association between impulse control and juvenile offending. Using longitudinal data, the second paper examines the effect of adolescent antisocial behavior trajectories on the change in the mother-son relationship over time, in a sample of juvenile offenders and their mothers. The third paper follows low-income males from 18 months old into adolescence to test whether family contextual factors (e.g., harsh parenting, maternal depression, family income) can distinguish violent offenders from non-violent offenders during adolescence. A discussant will integrate the presentations from the perspective of child development. The implications for families and practitioners emerging from this body of research will be discussed.

Sub Unit

• Family Context & Processes

Chair

• Caitlin Cavanagh, Michigan State University

Discussant

• Leslie Leve, University of Oregon

Individual Presentations

• The Role of Individual Differences on the Association between Contexts and Adolescent Delinquency - Presenting Author: Adam Fine, University of California, Irvine; Alissa Mahler, UC Irvine; Laurence Steinberg, Temple University; Paul Frick, Louisiana State University; Elizabeth Cauffman, University of California, Irvine

• Changes in the Mother-Son Relationship and Youth Offending Trajectories - Presenting Author: Caitlin Cavanagh, Michigan State University; Elizabeth Cauffman, University of California, Irvine

• The Family Context in Early Childhood and Prediction to Adolescent Violent Behavior - Presenting Author: Daniel S. Shaw, University of Pittsburgh; Stephanie Sitnick, Caldwell College; Chelsea Weaver, University of Pittsburgh; Elizabeth Shelleby, Northern Illinois University; Daniel Ewon Choe, UC Davis; Julia Reuben, University of Pittsburgh; Mary Gilliam, University of Pittsburgh; Emily Winslow, Arizona State University; Lindsay Taraban, University of Pittsburgh