Family Dynamics and their Affects on Delinquency

Title:

Family Dynamics and their Affects on Delinquency

Background and Purpose:

Juvenile crime rates in the United States are high; in 2003 there were 2.2 million arrests in the U.S. involving youth under the age of 18. Understanding the factors that contribute to delinquency can lead to strategies to prevent future crimes. Exactly what prompts youths to commit crimes is a topic of great debate, with a good deal of emphasis on the family of origin. With that, the primary objective of the current study was to examine how family relation variables (family cohesion, family stressors, and importance of non-familial relationships), self perception, and delinquent peers affect delinquency.

Methods:

The data for the present study were generated from Delbert Elliott's longitudinal study of 1,725 youth in the United States. The National Youth Study data were retrieved via the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). The NYS employed a national probability sample of individuals who were 11 to 17 years old in the continental United States. The NYS conducted five annual “waves” of interviews. The current study uses data collected during Wave 5 of the study. Nine measures of interest were examined in the current study. The following measures were used in the study: Sex, Age, Ethnicity, Family Stressors, Family Cohesion, Importance of non-Familial Relationships, Perceived Self-Image, Delinquent Peers, and Delinquency.

In order to explore the hypothesized causal relationship, a path analysis was employed by the researchers. To test the proposed model, a technique for estimating effects in recursive causal models was employed. This technique allows for the decomposition of effects into direct and indirect components. At the outset, equations with only exogenous variable were used. Consequently, equations using the intervening variables were used in sequence from cause to effect.

Results:

An examination of the exogenous variables on delinquency points toward an association with delinquent peers (â = .373, p. < .001) and Perceived Self Image (â = -.176, p. < .001) as being the strongest indicators of Delinquency. The Path also demonstrated that the higher perceived self image of the youth the less likely they are to associate with delinquent peers (â = -.427, p. < .001). Furthermore, Family Stressors did not have a direct effect on delinquency, however the path model did demonstrate that Family Stressors did have a direct effect on Family Cohesion (â = -.082, p. < .001) and Delinquent Peers (â = .062, p. < .01). Lastly, Family Cohesion ((â = .322, p. < .001) had a direct effect on Importance of non-Familial Relationships, which interestingly had no effect on Perceived Self Image, Delinquent Peers, or Delinquency.

Conclusions and Implications:

The data provide promising findings that may provide a better understanding as to the effect that family dynamics have on the decision a youth makes in relation to delinquency. The authors discuss the findings in terms of the applicability of the findings, and their importance in the understanding of the role that the family plays in juvenile delinquency.