Families, Delinquency, and Crime

Description

This book explores the link between family life and antisocial behavior. In recent years, researchers from a variety of disciplines have investigated the relationship between society's most fundamental social institution--the family--and various forms of criminal behavior. Simons et al. fill a fundamental void in the literature by demonstrating how these seemingly disparate lines of research can be woven together using classic and contemporary theories of delinquency and crime. The book is designed to serve as a supplement for courses on juvenile delinquency, criminology, deviance, and child development.

Families, Delinquency, and Crime evaluates and explores popular explanations using the results of studies by sociologists, criminologists, and psychologists. Each chapter succinctly defines terminology, establishes a review of empirical literature, and provides an effective argument that families are a dynamic aspect of our social lives that are intricately related to delinquency and other problem behaviors. Clear examples of each situation are provided.

Part I explains child and adolescent antisocial behavior. The chapters review theory and research regarding the effect of family structure, marital conflict, parental antisocial behavior, and parents' childrearing practices on a child's risk for conduct problems and delinquency. Part II focuses on adult antisocial behavior and shows how the various family socialization processes and childhood behavior problems discussed in Part I influence the probability of later adult crime. Explanations are provided for both the continuity and discontinuity of antisocial behavior across the life course. Consideration is given to the manner in which romantic partners often modify deviant life course trajectories. The book also explores the link between family experiences during childhood and adult risk for either perpetrating or becoming the victim of marital violence.

Table of Contents

Foreword (by Ronald L. Akers)
Part I: Family Processes and the Deviant Behavior of Children and Adolescents
1. Defining Our Terms and Focus
Deviance and Social Norms
Cultural Relativity and Antisocial Behavior
What Are Families?
The Focus of Subsequent Chapters
2. Linking Parenting and Delinquency: Theories of Social and Self-Control
Criminal Careers Start Early
Early Evidence Linking Parenting and Delinquency
Social Control Theory
The Elements of Effective Parenting
Self-Control Theory
3. Family Interaction and Peer Influences: Social Learning Explanations
Respondent Learning
Operant or Instrumental Learning
Mutual Training
Modeling as Vicarious Learning
Ron Akers' View of Social Learning and Crime
Patterson's Coercion Model
4. The Corporal Punishment Controversy
Methodological Problems
Theoretical Considerations
Severity of Punishment
Age of Child
Quality of the Parent-Child Relationship
Cultural and Community Context
Conclusion
5. Family Structure and Delinquency
Changing Family Forms
Single-Parent Households
Quality of Parenting in Single-Parent Households
The Stress of Being a Single Parent
Nonresidential Fathers
Blended or Stepfamilies
Multigenerational and Extended-Kin Households
Conclusion
6. The Effects of Parental Work and Neighborhood Conditions on Family Processes
Economic Hardship and Parenting
Linking Parental Employment to Family Processes
Community Differences in the Consequences of Parental Control
Collective Socialization: Adults Influencing Other People's Children
The Consequences of Labeling: The Juvenile Justice System and Family Processes
Part II: Adult Deviance as an Expression of Childhood Socialization
7. Linking Childhood Delinquency and Adult Crime: Life Course Perspectives on Antisocial Behavior
Self-Control Theory: A Latent Trait Approach
The Life Course Perspective: Explaining Both Continuity and Change
Evaluating the Evidence
Summary and Conclusion
8. Marital Violence: Antisocial Behavior
Learned in Childhood?
The Incidence of Marital Violence
Explaining Marital Violence
Patriarchy and Male Dominance
Childhood Exposure to Family Violence
The Criminological Perspective
Explaining Women's Double Jeopardy
Summary and Conclusions
9. Child Maltreatment: Inept Parenting or Expression of a General Antisocial Orientation?
How Common Is Child Maltreatment?
Intergenerational Transmission of Child Maltreatment
Sexual Abuse of Children
Summary and Conclusions
10. Conclusions and Observations
References
Name Index