Is Family the Wellspring of Antisocial Behavior, Delinquency, and Violence? A Synthesis

• NCJ Number: 190432
• Author(s): James H. Derzon Ph.D.
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 24 pages
• Sale Source: Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This meta-analysis of 234 reports, 120 studies, and 3,124 effect sizes examined whether family factors predicted antisocial, criminal, and violent behaviors, and if so, which family factors correlated with such behaviors.

Abstract

The purposes of the meta-analysis were to determine appropriate targets for intervention, selection of the appropriate age for intervention, and the selection of appropriate clients for intervention. Using a computerized DIALOG search, snowball sampling from bibliographies, and the solicitation of documents at conferences, the meta-analysis selected studies with a prospective design from western developed countries, with no treatment or evaluative component (although universal interventions were allowed), and with age and relationship data provided. Of the studies examined, 68 percent had been conducted in the United States. The analysis of the studies found that family was more predictive of problem and criminal outcomes than of aggressive and violent outcomes. Many of the factors that were most predictive of problem and aggressive behaviors were not particularly predictive of criminal and violent behaviors, and the factors that were most predictive of criminal and violent behaviors were not predictive of problem and aggressive behaviors. Some indicators emerged for preventing and reducing antisocial, problem, or delinquent or violent behavior through family interventions, but no clear, systematic strategy or strategies could be recommended. Some significant family predictors of problem behavior were residential mobility, foster care, parent's education and expectations, parental psychopathology, and parent antisocial behavior. Family predictors of aggressive behavior included foster care, family deviance, and unwanted pregnancy; and family predictors of criminal behavior included home discord and stability, child-rearing skills, family stress, and child maltreatment. Family predictors of violent behavior included unwanted pregnancy, parental supervision and involvement, family size, and warmth and relationship. 11 figures