NCJ Number
154513
Date Published
Unknown
Length
42 pages
Annotation
The author attempts a partial replication and theroetical extension of power-control theory by modeling the ideological component of patriarchy and examining the influence of peer groups, the church, and television on the development of patriarchal gender subjectivities, taste for risk, and proclivity toward delinquent activities.
Abstract
Data were obtained from the 1985 Youth Employment Study of high school seniors in three Canadian cities (Edmonton, Sudbury, and Toronto). The study followed a sample of 2,229 high school students before and after graduation. Family-class structures were defined using Standard Occupational Classification Codes devised by Statistics Canada. Patriarchal families were those in which occupational positions of fathers were higher than those of mothers. Egalitarian families were those in which fathers and mothers shared identical occupational positions and power positions at home. Intervening variables involved the link between gender and delinquency and the frequency of church attendance. Variables measuring delinquency included criminal drug use, alcohol consumption, and general criminal behavior. Substantial gender differences were observed in parental, relational, and instrumental control in both patriarchal and egalitarian family types, but these differences were not in the direction indicated by power-control theory. In a similar vein, data did not support the argument that the analytical focus must extend beyond the nuclear family and its socialization methods in order to account for the development of patriarchal gender subjectivities. In egalitarian families, the influence of the church was statistically significant in addition to independent effects of gender. Overall, findings highlighted the importance of direct parental control in delinquency prevention. 84 references, 8 footnotes, 6 tables, and 1 figure