NCJ Number
133753
Journal
Youth and Society Volume: 23 Issue: 2 Dated: (December 1991) Pages: 175-201
Date Published
1991
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This study compares the effect of direct and indirect parental controls on delinquent behavior and focuses on gender differences in the impact of parents on delinquency.
Abstract
The results suggest that theories that include parental attachment and controls, such as social control and power-control, need to be specified to the account for the interrelationships among gender, age, parental control, and delinquency. The results demonstrate that parental controls are significant inhibitors of delinquency more often for males than females and that, for males, these controls are more effective in mid-adolescence, while, for females, they are better deterrents in later adolescence. Further, attachment varies with age, and parental control decreases as adolescents become older. These findings suggest that age-gender roles affect adolescents' relationships with their parents and the impact of those relationships on delinquency. 3 tables, 1 note, appendix, and 38 references