Family Structure And Juvenile Delinquency

notion that family factors could play a key role in juvenile delinquency and subsequent adult criminality emerged in the early 1970s with the study of “criminogenic” families (Yablonsky, 2000, pp. 308-310). The “broken homes hypothesis” theorizes that children who are raised in homes where one or both of their biological parents are missing are significantly more likely to become involved in delinquency than are children from “intact” homes (those with both biological parents present) (Kierkus & Baer, 2003). In an era when divorce is the norm and when single parenthood has become commonplace, research linking family structure to juvenile delinquency takes on new importance. Research on family structure and delinquency makes a distinction

The essence of this theory is that crime and delinquency are caused by low self-control. Gottfredson & Hirschi (2003) argue that the “major ‘cause’ of low self-control ...appears to be ineffective child-rearing” (p. 249). Effective child-rearing requires that parents be strongly attached to children, directly monitor and supervise their child’s behavior, recognize deviant behavior when it occurs, and punish/correct deviant behavior. The absence of these factors leads to low self-control and hence, delinquency. Based on their regression analysis study of family structure and delinquency, concluded that the parental attachment component of social control theory provides a plausible explanation for why some family structures are linked to delinquency. Specifically, non-traditional families are more likely to be deficient in their provision of the types of supervision and monitoring necessary to ensure the strong parental attachment needed to prevent delinquency. Also using social control theory as their starting point, Sokol-Katz, et al. (1997) found that family structure had only an indirect effect on each of the measures of delinquency in their study “because family structure has a direct effect on family attachment, which was found to have a significant direct effect on minor delinquency, serious delinquency, and cigarette, alcohol and drug use” (p. 208). Sokol-Katz et al. (1997) concluded “that it is possible to have a broken or reconstituted family that provides attachment and belief better than do some intact families, resulting in lower levels of delinquency” (p.