Family Context of Delinquency

• NCJ Number: 89281
• Journal: Social Problems Volume: 30 Issue: 4 Dated: (April 1983) Pages: 466-479
• Author(s): J H Rankin
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 14 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 33rd annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Washington, DC, 1981.

Annotation

Using two samples of U.S. children interviewed in 1967 and 1972, this paper examines the relationship between broken homes and delinquency and concludes that studies suggesting that broken homes are not an important causal factor are misleading due to inadequate operational definitions of both family context and delinquency.

Abstract

When family context is operationalized as a simple dichotomy (broken versus intact homes), broken homes are more highly associated with 'family' offenses such as running away and truancy than with other types of juvenile misconduct. When family context is defined more explicitly, the number of absent biological parents as well as the presence of a stepparent strongly affects some types of juvenile misconduct. However, neither parent-specific absences (mother versus father missing) nor reason for the breakup (death versus divorce or separation) has any effect. Study data, footnotes, and about 40 references are provided. (Author abstract modified)