Differences in Parenting Attributes, Experiences, and Behaviors of Delinquent Youth With and Without a Parental History of Incarceration

• NCJ Number: 210376
• Journal: Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice Volume: 3 Issue: 3 Dated: July 2005 Pages: 199-213
• Author(s): Anne M. Dannerbeck
• Date Published: July 2005
• Length: 15 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Missouri Dept of Public Health; Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP); Missouri State Juvenile Justice Advisory Group
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined attributes of parenting linked to juvenile delinquency and the related differential life experiences of youth with and without a parental incarceration history.

Abstract

At the time study data were collected, Missouri was pilot testing the J-TRAC (Juvenile Offender Risk and Needs Assessment and Classification System) in nine circuit courts. All adjudicated youth (n=1,112) in these courts in 2001 were included in the study. Information was collected during a face-to-face structured interview. The youth were asked for information on social and environmental influences, individual characteristics, and emerging patterns of behavior. The interviews obtained information on parents' incarceration history; parental mental disorders and substance use; parental management style; out-of-home placements, abuse, and neglect; and youths' behavioral patterns. Chi-square analysis was used to determine whether there were significant differences between juveniles with and without a parental incarceration history. Multivariate analysis was then performed to assess the effect of parental incarceration on a youth's delinquent history relative to other parental attributes and experiences that put youth at risk for delinquent behavior. Out of the total sample, 90 females and 256 males had a parental incarceration history. The analysis provided support for three of four hypotheses. First, parents who had been incarcerated exhibited lower levels of effective parenting and a greater number of factors that could impede parenting abilities, notably substance abuse and mental illness. Second, youth with parents who had been incarcerated were more likely to have experienced negative effects from ineffective parenting, notably abuse and out-of-home placement. Third, youth with a parental incarceration history had longer and more serious delinquent histories. There was no support for the hypothesis that a history of parental incarceration predicts delinquent behavior. 2 tables and 50 references