NCJ Number
77726
Date Published
1981
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This paper examines data bearing on the relationship between perceived parental discipline and delinquent behavior.
Abstract
The data were drawn from a larger study on the psychosocial etiology of adolescent drug use among a stratified, random sample of 1,371 6th-to 12th grade adolescents (48 percent male) in a small rural community in a northwestern State. The data were also analyzed to test the hypothesis that no relationship exists between parental punishment and delinquency on the grounds that punishment tends to suppress all behavior and that severely punished children will have learned to comply with demands of others and are therefore likely to be nondelinquent. The subjects filled out questionnaires which sought information on perceived parental strictness and perceived unfair parental punishment. The measures of self-reported delinquency included cheating on a school test, running away from home, truancy, fighting, suspension from school, and stealing items worth less or more than $10. The socioeconomic status of each family was also included among the data. The results showed that no relationship existed between any one of the delinquent behaviors and parental strictness. However, regardless of the punishment parents inflicted, the perception of unfairness was related to all delinquent behavior except cheating on a test. The more the parents were perceived to punish unfairly, the more likely the children were to engage in delinquent acts. In addition, the data analysis did not support a relationship between parental socioeconomic status and discipline or delinquency. Data tables and a nine-item reference list are included.